Something for the Rest of Us
by Maddiex
Summary: Sara wants to do something about her life after her suspension and makes a decision that will change many people's lives. Will Grissom do something about it? A/U, GSR.
1. Prologue

_**Title:**__ Something for the Rest of Us_

_**Summary:**__ Set after Nesting Dolls, AU. Sara wants to do something about her life after her suspension and makes a decision that will change many people's lives. Will Grissom do something about it?_

_**Disclaimer:**__ I own nothing._

_**A/N:**__ I've been writing this story for some months now, and I simply couldn't let it go._

_Hope you enjoy your reading!_

* * *

**Prologue**

_San Francisco, 1996._

"I mean it, Sara, you should get out more. You're always working, studying. Let me tell you this: you're not seventy. You are twenty-four years old. You should… I don't know, get a boyfriend or something."

Sara was cautiously preparing a salad while her company was making some delicious food she wasn't allowed to touch until it was lunch time. It was a dreadful Sunday – a boring and rainy day – and she rolled her eyes as Henry started his weekly speech about how she should have some fun. She didn't get it, really – it wasn't like Henry Daniels went out a lot, either. He just said the same things over and over every time she had problems in the Coroner's office she had been working.

"Otherwise, I'll have to sleep with you or do your laundry." He continued and she laughed.

"Nice to see you care so much, and sleeping with me would be such a sacrifice!"

"Hey, darling, you're gorgeous. But you and I… We're on the same team here." He winked. "I'm just saying that you should find someone, marry and have a family. It would suit you, you know? I can just see it. You, a loving husband, a little boy and a little girl, and a boxer running in the garden of your big, pretty house. And neighbors who you actually know."

"Perfect scenario."

"Not at all. Somehow, I can see your cooking skills haven't improved."

She threw a piece of cabbage at him.

"Hey, I can cook! I just… don't try it very often. Anyway…" She continued, now becoming serious. "Sounds like the perfect place, Henry. But it's never going to happen."

"Why's that? Come on, Sar, I kind of understand why you would be opposed to marriage, but kids? No kids in the future? Who is going to take care of you when you're old?"

She laughed.

"Yeah, I guess I can accept a child. Only when I'm ready, obviously. If I can't find the man, then, no kid."

"You shouldn't give up on the idea of having kids just because you might not be able to find the right guy. There are other options, you know?" He said, and Sara fought the urge to laugh; she couldn't believe they were actually talking about _children_. "You remember Aunt Julia. She had everything: the house, the dog, the lifestyle. Except she didn't have the guy. But now there she is, with that little troublemaker she insists on calling 'her angel'."

"Yeah. Right. I don't think I'd be comfortable to go search for a sperm donor. It's so… weird. I don't know. I want to be able to tell my children who their father is, at least." Sara said, absentmindedly.

Henry startle her as he stopped his cooking and turned to look at her.

"Let's make a deal, then. In… I don't know, eight or nine years from now we'll see if we're on any relationships or something. If we're still as hopeless as we are now, we'll have a child together!" Henry said enthusiastically.

"Together? Have you lost your mind? No offense, but you're gay and I see you as my brother and I am…"

"Socially retarded, I know. What a kid, huh? Come on, Sar, my parents would love it. They gave up on the idea of me giving them grandchildren years ago. Plus, they love you. Any children you have would be like a grandchild to them. And I may love you a little bit. But just a tiny one."

"You're a pain in the ass. You know that, right?"

"Yeah, but you'll miss me when I'm gone."

He winked at her once more before resuming his task, joking around like they always did.

* * *

_Three years later._

Sara sat in the comfortable chair in Richard Daniels' office. She waited patiently for the lawyer to come, probably because she dreaded hearing what he would say.

So much had changed over the course of the last month that she barely registered anything. She had shed enough tears and knew it would be useless to cry. The fact that she couldn't cry anymore didn't mean she was any less sad. It just meant she was beginning to know how to deal with the situation.

Nearly a month ago, Henry Daniels died on a car accident.

She kept her life going, knowing that Henry wouldn't have liked it if she did otherwise. But she missed him deeply – he had been her best friend, the most important person in her life, for nearly twelve years. And now he was gone.

She checked her watch briefly. She had places to be and people to see. But why didn't she want to leave this office?

Truth was, she wanted to see Richard. He and Henry were so much alike – so Richard was the serious one, but she thought of him as a brother as well. He was family – even if they weren't blood-related, the Daniels' men were her family.

She looked out the window and admired the view. It was beautiful day. Just like the day Henry died.

"Sara, I apologize for keeping you waiting. You do know how traffic is in this city." Richard Daniels said, giving her a hug. "How are you doing?"

"I'm doing good. How about you, Richard? How's Monica?" Sara said as Richard took his seat in front of her.

"It's hard, Sara, and you probably know it better than we do. But we'll move on. We have to. We know he wouldn't have wanted otherwise." He started to look for something in his suitcase. "Dad mentioned you've been visiting a lot. That's great, Sara. I can only thank you. After what happened to Mom, and now Henry… We're all he has left. We need to hold onto that."

"I don't mind. You know how I've always had a soft spot for old Ted. He keeps me distracted. Last week he let me come to his poker night with him. But I'm afraid he won basically everything." Sara said, trying to keep the mood light, but she knew she would have to ask why she had been called to Richard's office – if he simply wanted to catch up, he would have invited her to have a nice dinner with him and Monica, since he knew they were good friends. If he called her to request a meeting in his office, things were serious. "How's the company going?"

"Never better. Everything's great. Which brings us to why you're here." He said as he grabbed a piece of paper from his suitcase and smiled at her. "Henry did an extra will. Yeah, I know, weird," Richard said as Sara frowned slightly, "leave it to Henry to do things unconventionally. I wasn't the one to do it, unlike the other one – there's nothing wrong with the other, though. He just had a few unknown belongings, and he wanted you to have them."

Sara nodded slightly, not wanting to look into Richard's eyes. Henry already left her so much – the apartment, his things, money – and she had been his insurance beneficiary. What could possibly have been left behind?

"Henry never was one to leave things on their own. He probably would have done an inventory with all his books and clothes if you hadn't stopped him." Sara said at last, and Richard smiled.

"True enough. But here's the thing, Sara: this is a very… unusual thing. That's why he probably had it done with another lawyer, and not me." The man said, apparently choosing his words carefully, which made Sara nervous. "Did you know Henry had been doing some research on genetics lately?"

"Yeah, he… He mentioned something, a while ago. But he didn't say he was involved with anything other than studies."

"That's what surprised me. Anyway, he was working on a few projects, and he donated his own sperm for the research, which" he paused to read the document in his hands, "hasn't been used yet. And he wanted _you _to decide what to do with his sperm. As weird as it sounds, the truth is that his sperm is now yours, Sara."

Sara looked at him blankly. She couldn't believe it – Henry donate his sperm to a research, but he wanted her to keep it. It was all between the lines.

_Damn it. Not even in death Henry wants me to be alone. He basically wants me to have his child in case her life does not go as planned. What was it that he called? Plan B._

She shook her head slightly, smiling as tears began to form in her eyes. No, she wouldn't cry. Henry would probably be laughing at her if he saw her reaction to the news.

"You don't need to keep this, Sara. No one, besides you, me and the lawyer who signed the document, knows about this. You also don't need to decide what to do with the material now. You can either keep the material frozen and untouched, for your personal use, or you can donate it back to the research." Richard said. "You can just call me to say what you decide to do, and…"

"I'll keep it." She said, interrupting the lawyer. He looked at her, a bit surprised by her sudden decision. "I want to keep it. What do I have to sign?"

"Okay, then. You'll just have to sign some forms. We can keep it under good care on our foundation – it's there right now. Or you can pass the benefit to your own lawyer, it's up to you." Richard Daniels said.

"No, you can keep it there. Besides, you're my lawyer, Richard. Don't play dumb." Sara said, still a bit shaken over the news.

They engaged a comfortable conversation while Sara signed the forms, both trying to avoid the main topic in their minds. Just as Sara got up to leave, after promising to visit Richard and Monica the next day, he approached her.

"Sara, I know you were closer to my brother than we are, but I see you as the sister I never had. I know you. Please don't act impulsively over this material- live your life, try to be happy. And when you think you're ready for this, please take more time. It's an important decision, and the sperm won't vanish." He said, smiling. "But, in case you're sure you want to do this… I'd want to know. Any child you have will be a part of the family, it doesn't matter if we're from the same blood or not. But still… I'd want to know."

"You will, Richard. You'd be the first to know. I promise."

* * *

**A/N (2):** So, was this too bad? Should I give it up or continue? I have lots of material to post, but I'm not sure you'll be interested on reading more. Please tell me what you think, and maybe I'll post another chapter soon :) Thanks for reading anyway!


	2. Vertigo

**Chapter One - Vertigo**

It was her third day back after the suspension. Third. And she was already working overtime.

Not that she didn't want to. She did, actually. She loved working and she missed it terribly while she was off. But the thing was…

Her counselor will absolutely hate knowing this.

After all, she, Sara Sidle, promised herself _and_ her counselor that she wouldn't work too hard. That she wouldn't live for work, because, really, she was doing much better these days.

She contacted her brother after years of knowing nothing about him. She even called her mother for their monthly conversation in the right month, not sixty days later. She sort of apologized to Catherine – they both apologized, in fact, and everything was almost normal between them again. Plus, Grissom wasn't being an ass and they were slowly becoming friends again, which was nice.

No, it was amazing.

Better friendship than nothing, she supposed.

But really, she shouldn't be working. Her counselor will be really mad.

"Sara, are you listening to me?" Grissom's voice woke her from her reverie, and she blinked.

"Sorry, I just spaced out a little. You were saying?" She asked him, smiling apologetically.

"I just mentioned that our work in here is done. We'll have to wait until Brass finds some leads."

They were working non-stop on a body found dead in his own apartment, but they had no clue whatsoever. The only thing they knew was that the guy was stabbed to death. Nothing more.

Sara sighed. She really hated when she couldn't get a lead. Shift was about to start – not that the last one had ever really ended for her, anyway – and here she was. No clues, just waiting.

"Fine. Let's go grab some coffee. You think the guy stabbed himself? Not very likely, is it?"

"Not likely, but not impossible. We've seen worse." Grissom said as they walked through the halls.

"Yeah, I can say that. You know, at least he didn't die dressed up like Elvis, or in some whale outfit. His body was very… normal. Which is unusual for Vegas." She said lightly, before Greg suddenly appeared in front of them.

"Sara, my darling, I have some news."

"You got any clues on the case?"

"No, not about the case. Your people came over." He stated, apparently quite proud of the information.

Sara and Grissom stared at him blankly.

"My people." Sara frowned, waiting for Greg to elaborate.

"Your people, Sara! San Fran people. From the Golden State." Greg said happily. "A guy and a girl from the Crime Lab. Dayshift's got this weird murder that is linked with several others from the Bay area, and they sent two CSIs over here to take care of the business."

This got Sara's attention. She didn't leave the San Francisco Crime Lab in the best of conditions, but she worked with great people in there. Plus, Colleen still worked there.

No, but Colleen would have called Sara to say she would be coming to Vegas.

Or maybe she wouldn't. You never knew with Colleen.

"Okay, Greg. I'm sure if it was someone I knew, they would have called me to say they were coming. But thanks for the information all the same." Sara said, not giving it much thought. She turned to Grissom. "The guy had to be with someone in that apartment. The angles are too weird to consider suicide. He probably had some company during the night and got killed while sleeping. We'll just have to wait for DNA and Trace to give us something. Greg, where's your good coffee?"

"Not telling ya."

This made Sara turn and look sternly at her friend and colleague. Greg _obviously _wanted something from her, and she shared a quick look with Grissom before speaking.

"What do you want, Greggo?"

"Well, I'd want you to go out with me, but since we all know that's highly unlikely, I thought that maybe you could see the San Francisco girl and if you happened to know her, you could, let's say, arrange a date for me?"

Sometimes, Sara thought about leaving Vegas – leaving the job, leaving Nevada, even leaving the country. But sometimes she knew she would never be able to leave the city for good.

"A date? With the unknown girl?" Sara laughed. "Fine, I'll see what I can do. But where's the good coffee?"

"Second cabinet. Oh, see, they're coming! Take a look, Sara."

Sara reluctantly looked beyond the glass walls, and smiled when she saw Robbins, from Dayshift, walking with a guy she had never seen before and Colleen Sinclair.

Yep, you never knew with Colleen.

Her friend spotted her immediately and smiled widely.

"You know her?" Greg asked eagerly, looking from Sara to Colleen. Grissom resumed his presence in the room by grabbing a cup of coffee for himself.

"Greg, you don't stand a chance." She shook her head.

"Why? Oh, I get it. You're wondering what she's got that you don't."

"No, I know exactly what she's got that I don't. A husband." Sara smirked at Greg. "Sorry, Greggo. If it helps, I'd try to set you up with her if she were single."

"Yeah, helps a bit. You know, Sara, you can be pretty m…"

"Sara Sidle!" Colleen Sinclair practically yelled as she entered the break room, leaving Robbins and her colleague behind and giving Sara a big hug. "I'm sorry I didn't call! I was told a CSI named Sara was on the case – I thought it _had_ to be you, but turned out it was some Sarah Turner, with an H. And as far as I know, she doesn't have a good score of solved cases." She said, whispering the last part.

"Yeah, I know who she is." Sara laughed, and then felt Greg's intense eyes on her, obviously wanting some attention. Just as she opened her mouth to introduce them, Colleen noticed her colleagues.

"Oh, hello, Dr. Grissom! How have you been?" Colleen said, smiling as she shook Grissom's hand. "Don't know if I can be very nice to you again after you stole Sara from our lab all those years ago, but I'll do my best."

Oh, of course. Leave it to Colleen to embarrass her on their first conversation.

"I can't say I'm sorry about that, Colleen, but it's a pleasure to see you again." Grissom said, his blue eyes twinkling, making Sara almost choke on her coffee. "Well, I'll leave you now. Sara, page me if any of the results are in before shift."

Sara nodded quietly as Colleen said goodbye to Grissom and turned to Greg.

"Colleen Sinclair, Greg Sanders." Sara said, quickly recovering herself.

"Nice to meet you, Greg! Sara, I wish I could chat more, but the guys are waiting for me in the layout room. Call me when your shift's over?" Colleen said as her pager went off. Sara nodded. "Oh, and _where _is this layout room?"

"Just turn left and you'll be able to see it." Greg eagerly said as Colleen disappeared from their vision. "Aw, are you sure she's married?"

"I am. I was one of her bridesmaids." Sara said nonchalantly, but regretted her answer immediately after the words left her mouth.

"You were a bridesmaid? You?" Greg laughed. "I will _have _to ask her about it. Maybe I'll even be able to see a photo. You hate marriages!"

"I don't hate marriages. I loved Colleen's wedding."

Greg continued laughing, much to Sara's dismay.

"How come Grissom knows her and I don't?" Greg finally asked, his laughter dying.

"Grissom helped us out with bugs in San Francisco several years ago. Colleen and I were the CSIs on the case." Sara said, suddenly wanting the shift to begin soon.

"Oh, so that's how you met Grissom?" Greg curiously asked.

"No, it isn't." Sara said, once in her life happy that Sofia arrived and Greg dropped the subject to ask her if she had ever been a bridesmaid.

Yes, sometimes Sara thought about leaving Vegas.

But she'd still have to deal with her counselor on the next session. Perhaps if she finally found a diversion that had nothing to do with work, Dr. Altman wouldn't mind her working more than planned.

* * *

Two days later, Sara found herself at her apartment – with Colleen babbling incessantly.

Sara was never one to have many friends, especially girlfriends. She simply wasn't one to talk about nail polish or which one was the cutest doctor airing on ER. Of course, she had done that occasionally, years ago – especially when talking to Henry, even if they both used to see George Clooney as the prettiest. With Colleen, on the other hand, that rarely happened. They were friends, she was always talking and laughing loudly, but they seemed to understand each other – ever since they met when Colleen joined the San Francisco Crime Lab.

At the time, both of them were single, loved their jobs and wanted nothing more than get promoted to CSI level 3. And soon.

Things changed, though – Colleen married Scott Coles just a few months before Sara came to Vegas, and she didn't exactly make a secret of her wish to leave the lab.

"Oh, and you remember Jill, right?" Colleen asked her out of sudden. Sara nodded, remembering vividly the weird girl who had just arrived from Berkeley to take over the DNA Lab. "The punk one? Crazy, weird?"

"Yeah, sure. Must be some DNA thing. Greg used to remind me of her, but he was worse. How's she these days?" Sara asked good-naturedly.

"She's huge. Pregnant." Colleen said with a smirk on her face. "She's not that punk anymore, but she still refused to decorate her daughter's nursery in pink."

"Wait a minute. Wasn't she pregnant the last time you told me about her? About, I don't know, a year ago?" Sara asked her friend, sure to have heard Colleen telling her about Jill's pregnancy.

"Yeah, well, she had the first baby – Madison, she's so damn cute – and discovered she was pregnant about three months after that. Can you believe it? Two babies that close together, it's so… crazy." Colleen said distractedly, taking a sip of her beer.

Sara nodded absentmindedly, wondering why Colleen brought up such a weird subject.

"You're jealous. Oh my god, you want a baby too!" Sara smiled as Colleen stared at her with wide eyes.

"Well… Alright, I've been trying to convince Scott to have children. I mean, we've been married for almost five years, I think it's time for us to enlarge the family. What do you think?" Colleen asked her anxiously.

Sara looked at her and smiled. Colleen would be a great mother.

"I think it's great. If you really want a baby, you should have one."

"Yeah. I'm ready for this. I guess women know it – when we're ready for it, I mean. I'm just worried Scott isn't. He just won't agree with me. Says I should first decide if I'm leaving the lab or not, and then think about children." She sighed. "You know how it is. If it happens, it happens. Now, there's something I've been meaning to say, and I need to say it quickly before you kill me. When did Grissom become so damn handsome?"

Sara choked on her beer when she heard her friend's question. Colleen grinned.

"I mean, I understood why you were so into him all those years ago, he was never one to pass unnoticed. And he may have gained a bit weight, but really, what's with the beard? Now I understand why you stayed here!" Colleen laughed, but Sara tried to remain serious. "And don't tell you're just friends."

"Okay. He's my boss, I'm his subordinate. We're old acquaintances." Sara said, satisfied with her answer. Colleen stared at her skeptically. "I'm serious! We're just colleagues. Friends, maybe. And I stayed because no CSI in the country would decline the opportunity of becoming a part of Grissom's team, or to learn with him."

Colleen smirked at her.

"Yeah, I'm sure there is a lot of stuff you'd like to learn with him…"

"Will you stop it? We're just friends, and that's all we'll ever be. Grissom wouldn't jeopardize his career for me. And I'm not sure I'd jeopardize mine either."

"I see. Wait a minute. Do you smell this, Sara?" Colleen said, looking at her suspiciously. "It's the smell of lies."

Sara snorted, trying to find a way to drop the subject, but she knew Colleen better than that. Her friend always seemed to think Grissom and Sara would make the perfect couple – even if they never were and Sara rarely talked to her about him.

Thankfully, someone knocked at the door just when Colleen was about to say something else.

* * *

Truth be told, Grissom wasn't a man of changes. He didn't like many changes. He liked to have a daily routine and hold onto that.

So you could say he was stressed out after the so many changes in his life in the past months.

First, he discovers one of his CSIs – no, not just one of his CSIs, _Sara_ – was driving under the influence. Then, his team splits up, and Sofia is added to that equation. Sara gets suspended, and he learns that she came from an abused childhood. Sofia threatens to leave, and he takes her to dinner to talk her out of it. And the whole lab appears to think that now he and Sofia are in some kind of romantic relationship.

As John Tudor once said, "_A rumor without a leg to stand on will get around some other way._"

Just what he needed. He was now having a good friendly relationship with Sara and by now she probably heard about his dinner with Sofia. And, knowing Sara, she would pretend that everything was fine, but she would be pissed off all the same. And he didn't want her to be pissed off.

_How the hell does everyone know about that dinner, anyway? It's been weeks! Sofia can't be that bad, really…_

Nice. If he isn't the one to screw things up with Sara, someone else is.

Just his luck.

He wasn't very certain about what to do with their relationship, though. Truth be told, he wasn't sure what he felt about her. Sara was… Well, she was one of a kind. There were no further categories to put her on.

But he was really enjoying their breakfasts and conversations outside work, and he was not going to let a stupid rumor mess this up.

That's why he decided to surprise her with dinner on their night off. He knew she wouldn't be doing anything on her night off, so he thought: _why not?_

That's what friends do, anyway.

"Grissom, hi! What brings you here?" He could see she was surprised when she opened the door, but she seemed to take the situation lightly. Good.

"I brought dinner. No meat involved, I promise." He said as her door swung wide open behind her and he saw Colleen Sinclair smiling widely at him.

Okay, not exactly what he expected.

"Dr. Grissom, what a nice surprise!" She said, moving to stand behind Sara. "Sara and I were exchanging gossips. How are you today?"

"I'm fine, Colleen, thanks for asking." He said politely, looking at Sara once more. She seemed a bit confused about what to do with the situation.

_Why didn't he call her anyway?_

"Um… I'll leave you two be. We can do this some other time, Sara…"

"Did I hear you saying dinner, Dr. Grissom? Please tell me you'll save me from Sara's cooking." Colleen said, moving past Sara and taking one of the bags Grissom brought with him before going back to the apartment.

He stared at Sara for a moment before she smiled.

"Come in, Grissom. Please tell me you'll save me from Colleen's terrible jokes after her third beer." She said, making him smile as she closed the door behind them.

Colleen was already in the kitchen looking over the bags' items. She smiled at them.

"What a coincidence to have you here, Dr. Grissom. Sara and I were just talking about you."

He searched for Sara's eyes, but she seemed to be way too interested on the beer's label. He smiled, but chose to say nothing on the matter.

"Colleen, please call me Grissom."

"I was saying you haven't changed much. Except for the beard, actually. And it fits you, by the way." She said, winking at him. "Is there any new person in your life, Grissom?"

Now Sara's eyes came to focus on Colleen, obviously trying to tell her she just crossed the line. Grissom didn't mind.

"No, Colleen. Still the same old bachelor I was five years ago."

Sara looked at him then, and for once he was glad Colleen was a bit inconvenient.

As for Sara… For the millionth time she wondered what Grissom was thinking – and if he knew just how confusing he could be.

* * *

A/N: So, you're probably wondering what the prologue has to do with this chapter. Believe me, you'll find out soon. And I'd keep an eye on Colleen – she'll make several appearances during the course of this story. I find it very hard to believe that Sara didn't keep any friends from San Francisco – I mean, she made friends easily in Vegas. She must have friends from San Fran. You'll also learn soon how Henry and Sara became friends. Hope you like it – and forgive me for my grammar mistakes. Review if you want to – I'd be very happy to know what you think.

Oh, and the chapter's title came from the music Vertigo, by U2.

Thanks for reading!

_Maddie_


	3. Just Feel Better

**Chapter Two – Just Feel Better**

Dinner was spent nicely – they talked about their last peculiar cases (with a laughable moment when they mentioned the convention for plus-sized people), about the new star astronomies had found a few days before and while Colleen was washing the dishes (she insisted on doing so), Grissom and Sara even had a somewhat heated discussion about Charlie Brown's characters (and he had no idea how they got into that subject at all).

Over the years, he had forgotten – no, he had wanted to forget – how his relationship with Sara had been. He didn't ignore his attraction to her when they met, and neither did she – it was undeniable. But they had another thing in common: they didn't push their brand new friendly status into another level, knowing that the distance would only make it worse.

But, truth was, when he left San Francisco, it made things worse.

He thought about her all the time, when he was at work and outside of it. They talked regularly; most of the time, he was the one that called, since she was changing shifts almost like someone changed clothes those days. And he would smile every time he heard her voice when she answered the phone.

He didn't think much of it, though. They were friends, friends who were attracted to each other, but that was no big deal for him. He had been attracted to other women before, and he thought there was no difference there.

Although, the peculiar thing was that he was not only attracted to her physically – he was attracted to everything about her, from her voice to her mind. And that thought terrified him more than anything.

He didn't stop his life for her – no, he had one-night-stands, a couple of dates. His life was basically the same as before. Only now he had someone else besides Catherine and Brass to talk to.

But that didn't stop him from wondering what _she _was doing. They didn't talk much about their personal lives; they basically talked about their interests and about some interesting case they had had recently.

And here they were, more than five years later – _five years, ten months and twenty days_, he recalled – and yet so much had changed.

She didn't smile as much as before, although now she smiled more than she had a few months ago. She was different, but she looked good. She was more open now, occasionally even talking a little about her life before they met.

And they were getting pretty good at ignoring this attraction they still had for each other.

She had been pretty clear to him a few weeks before that she had moved on. It confused him, all those comments about men emotionally unavailable and the real reason why she came to Vegas. But she seemed to have moved on, and that made him happy.

Fine, so he wasn't exactly happy. But he was… content. She deserved to move on. Their relationship would be too much of a risk to their careers, anyway. He wouldn't jeopardize _his _career, let alone hers.

But he thought it wouldn't hurt if they became friends again.

And it felt wonderful to talk to her freely about any trivial things, hear her opinions and see her close to him, comfortable enough to not care, her smile lighting up the whole room.

And in more than one of these occasions he thought about kissing her.

And in all of these occasions, he dismissed the thought.

She was better without him. She was moving on. She deserved it.

And if she was happy, he was happy.

* * *

"He's the best cook _ever._ Can we keep him? He's handsome, a genius, and can cook. You _definitely _should keep him." Colleen said after Grissom left Sara's apartment. It was just past midnight, and Sara sighed contentedly as she sat down on the sofa beside her friend. She chose not to say anything, but felt Colleen gaze upon her.

"What?" Sara asked, already rolling her eyes and preparing herself for whatever Colleen was going to say.

"Come on, Sara. Stop denying it." Upon Sara's questioning expression, she continued. "This thing with Grissom! It's _so _obvious. You know, even someone deaf or blind could feel the sexual tension in the room. You were all flirty with each other. Do something about it."

"Do something about it? I've tried. Probably more than I should. I asked him to dinner, he declined. I even asked him to sleep with me once. Not in _that_ way of sleeping." She added after seeing Colleen's shocked face. "Just the thought of _sleeping _next to me probably makes him feel bad. He wants nothing to change. And I'm not pushing anymore."

They spent the next seconds lost in their own thoughts, until Colleen spoke again.

"Well," Colleen obviously tried to sound nonchalant, "I still think you should jump on his bones."

Sara laughed.

"Yeah. Right."

"Come on, stop doing this to yourself! This is the guy you're madly in love with!" Colleen explained, as if it was the most trivial thing going on.

Sara felt her mouth open against her will but just then managed to cover her surprise with a smirk.

"I am _not_ madly in love with him! Just because there's some _attraction _doesn't mean I'm in love with him!"

"He totally loves you back, you know."

"And you managed to find out all this during a dinner."

"Hey, I'm an observing person! How long have you known him?" Colleen said, putting on a serious face.

"Um… I don't know. Five years, give or take a few months."

_Five years and ten months. And twenty days, to be exact._

_Damn, she really needed a life._

And Colleen apparently thought the same.

"You know, Sara, you need a change. A diversion. A thing to live for. Otherwise you'll end up with eighteen cats and The Jerry Springer Show as your favorite TV program."

Sara frowned slightly.

"You know I'm not much of a cat person, but thanks for the support." Colleen smiled sympathetically. "I don't know, Colleen. It's not easy. I know I'm not looking for a boyfriend. I'm satisfied with my career. Could be better, I guess, but I _am _a good CSI. Most of the time, anyway." Sara shrugged. "My life is… good. It's fine, really."

"Yeah, sure. You just say it out loud to convince yourself that everything's fine, Sara. I know you, and I know the feeling. I don't know. Go do some charity work in an animal shelter. Start taking yoga classes. Join a book club. Maybe some of these would cheer you up."

"Not with all the spare time I have nowadays. My counselor almost killed me when she found out I had to work a double this week." Sara said, trying to lighten the mood.

Colleen laughed.

"Hey, I have an idea!" She said abruptly, her green eyes twinkling in excitement. "Have a baby! Preferably with Grissom."

Colleen laughed loudly as she spoke, and Sara didn't know whether to be mad or laugh with her.

"Sorry, I just had to imagine you with a child. You'd make a wonderful mother, even if you think differently. Anyway, I still think you should jump on Grissom next time you see him."

Sara would never do that, they both knew it. But the conversation did make Sara think.

* * *

Colleen was one of a kind. To imagine Sara being a mother, what a joke.

Sara would never be a mother. Ever. She decided that when she was ten, after hearing an argument between her parents. _They_ shouldn't have been parents.

When she was a teenager, girls would talk about babies and how they wanted to be married and have kids in the future. Of course, Sara Sidle was never a part of the conversation.

Eventually, she didn't give it any more thought. She saw women her own age get married and have children. Sometimes, she would think about what it would be like for her – if it would make her happy. She didn't think so. Most marriages ended up in divorce, anyway. Marriage was not on her priority list, and she doubted it would ever be.

Plus, she was a master on ruining relationships. She gave up on them after Hank – really, why bother? She couldn't love someone else. And she tried – flirting with other guys, meeting new people. She had even agreed to have two or three blind dates, but they didn't work out. The truth was sad and it hurt, but she couldn't lie to herself: she couldn't love anyone else but Grissom.

Maybe love was a strong word. But still, what she felt for him was different from anything she ever felt for anything else.

She thought about going back to California or simply transfer to another state. But deep inside, she knew nothing would change. It would probably be worse. She would miss Grissom and wonder what he was doing or what happened to him… Same thing she used to do all those years ago when she was in San Francisco and he was in Vegas.

But things changed. She didn't expect her relationship with Grissom to go any further than friendship. She was doing better. She was talking to her friends once more. She wasn't happy, that's true – but she was satisfied with her life. It wasn't perfect, but things were good.

And she wasn't saying this just because she wanted to convince herself of anything.

Colleen was right about one thing, though – she needed to find a reason to move on. She needed a motto. She needed something to give her hope. She needed something to fight for.

Damn. Was she really considering a baby?

No. No, not really.

Maybe she should do some charity work, after all.

* * *

Colleen went back to San Francisco three days later – after realizing the Vegas killer wasn't the serial she had been looking for. She left Vegas promising she would come back soon, and Sara was happy to see her friend so content.

Sara continued with her life – she worked, started taking yoga classes and even stopped by an animal shelter every now and then. She was good.

She kept talking to her mother, and started to have a good relationship with her brother – and she even got to talk to her 3-year-old nice on the telephone once, which was a new experience for Sara.

She was mentoring Greg, too – unofficially, she was his mentor. And she loved it. Grissom would always mention her good work with Greg when they weren't working, and that made her proud.

So she didn't have a boyfriend, or a husband, or a family of her own. The closest she had to a family were the Daniels' men – and she only talked to them occasionally. Richard called her every now and then, and even visited her when his wife had a conference in Vegas. Ted Daniels was enjoying himself at some tourist attraction in Europe – when they talked, he always said he needed to enjoy traveling now because in a few years he would be too old for traveling anywhere far than the bakery across his house.

It was in times like these that she thought of Henry.

Weeks slowly passed by – and Sara gave no more thought to her conversation with Colleen when her friend had been in Vegas. It wasn't worth it, after all. She was fine – her life was good, she had diversions and everything. Grissom would be proud.

But there were times when she felt nothing would ever be enough.

And times like these made her confused even about her work.

Especially after almost being killed by a serial rapist in a mental hospital.

She tried not to think about it during the case. She investigated, they discovered the murder, and she would go home, have a nice warm bath and try to sleep, even if she knew she would end up having nightmares.

And that she did.

She had just got out of the shower when she heard someone knocking at her door.

Finding it awkward and unusual, she put on a robe and went to see who would visit her at this time of the day.

On the hall in front of her apartment, Gil Grissom stood nervously, waiting for her to open the door.

* * *

**A/N:** So, how was it? The chapter's title came from Santana and Steven Tyler's song. It's one of my favorites, actually :) Tell me your thoughts about this chapter. That way you'll know sooner what is Grissom doing in front of Sara's apartment. Thanks for reading anyway!

_Maddie_


	4. As Time Goes By

**Chapter Three – As Time Goes By**

_April _

He wasn't exactly ready to say what he wanted to say when Sara opened the door.

Especially after seeing Sara wearing only a robe, with her hair still damp wet from the shower.

_Oh boy, this will be harder than I imagined it would be_, he had thought.

He had planned on going over there and telling her everything. Telling her what he felt when they first met, what he felt when she came over to Vegas, what he felt during Debbie Marlin's case… and, of course, what he felt during the mental hospital case.

Better yet, what he was still feeling because of Adam Trent.

He was just going home after the case, but somehow he ended up driving to Sara's apartment. And as soon as he realized that, he had decided upon what to do.

No, he didn't know what to do with their relationship. But he knew he couldn't just stand there doing nothing.

He was nervous, that was a fact. Who wouldn't be, in his situation?

Fortunately, Sara seemed to take everything lightly. She was pretty good on pretending she was fine, he knew that. So when she excused herself to make herself more presentable and disappeared into one of the rooms inside her apartment, Grissom paced quietly in the middle of her living room.

He needed to calm down. Otherwise, he would never be able to do this.

He started to walk around taking in the contents of the far side of her living room – one with books, her laptop, and photographs. He realized it was the first time he actually looked into the photographs – he and Sara hadn't reached such a comfortable stage in their pseudo-friendship for him to walk around her apartment feeling at home.

There was just one photo of Sara as a child. He couldn't help but find her adorable, smirking at the camera with a tiny gap between her front teeth and wild curly brown hair. There were only three more photographs: one of a young Sara, perhaps just after college, with a couple he didn't recognize, another one with Colleen, taken around the same time he met Sara, as he recognized her hair style, and one more, that had caught his attention: Sara jumping over the back of another man, about her age, as they both laughed. He was looking at the camera, his blue eyes appearing to be staring at Grissom, while Sara had her eyes closed.

Who the hell was that man?

He heard a hairdryer from a short distance at the same time Sara's home phone started to ring. He was about to call her when the answering machine got it.

"_Hello, Sara, it's Ted. Just calling to confirm our plans to Friday. Everything alright, then? Please call me back soon, darling."_

Maybe he shouldn't have come here after all. Sara was moving on.

He was happy for her. He really was.

Maybe he shouldn't have come here.

He didn't notice he was still staring at the picture until he felt a hand on his shoulder.

"Grissom, are you okay?" Sara asked with a worried expression on her face.

He stared at her speechless, before speaking again.

"Um, yes, I'm fine. I… I just…" He said, not really finding the right words for whatever he should say. "You got a message on the phone."

"Oh." Sara said, briefly looking over where the phone was to see its light blinking. "I'll just catch it later. Are you sure you're alright?"

"Yes! Yes. I should be asking you this question. You, um… gave us quite a scare yesterday." Grissom said, while Sara stared intently at him. "I mean… I should…"

"It was nothing, Grissom. I'm fine, justice has been made, and I won't go back to that hospital anytime soon." Sara said, so obviously not wanting to discuss the subject. "I don't mean to sound rude or anything, but… Grissom, why are you here? I mean… We just finished that case. I have the night off, but you don't. You should go home and sleep a little before going back to the lab. Are you sure you're feeling okay?"

"I'm great. I just came here because… I felt like apologizing. I shouldn't have left you alone in that room." Grissom said, finally making up his mind. "I can't even imagine what would have happened if…"

"It never happened, Grissom. I'm okay. Everything's going to be just the same." Sara said cautiously, and Grissom could detect a hint of sadness in her voice.

He couldn't say anything to her. She was probably better off without him. He could jeopardize her career. He couldn't risk that much.

He said goodbye after a few more minutes, unsure of what to do, but sincerely hoping Sara would have a nice time with Ted next Friday.

* * *

_May_

The next weeks were a blur to Sara – she worked more and more every day, as it seemed that the criminals all decided it was a good month to act. She was constantly working overtime (more than usual, that is), and she now hated Ecklie more than ever for splitting up the team. Sofia had left Graveyard, and even if Sara absolutely disliked the woman, she had to admit she was a good CSI. They were one CSI short (but in reality they _really _could do with three more) and no one seemed to want to move to Graveyard again.

She longed to work with Nick and Warrick again – and even Catherine, for that matter. Greg was fun to work with, but he was still very inexperienced, and some cases affected him more than he would let her know. Grissom was a mystery. If he was in the mood of talking, things would always go smoothly. But he too seemed to want his team back, and that was affecting him, even if he never said a word about it.

Of course, Sara's idea of working back together was not what she had in mind when Nick had gone missing.

As she and the others waited for some news regarding Nick's condition, she tried to remember the details of the last two days but it was difficult. They all worked so fast to try to find Nick that the main points of the last hours were missing in her head. She could only see Nick in that coffin, with ants all over his body. And she couldn't help but think that it could have been anyone – Greg, Grissom, or even herself…

She looked around for a moment. Catherine paced back and forth in front of them, her cell phone ringing every now and then. Warrick had his eyes closed, apparently relieved. Greg sat beside her, staring at the floor. Mr. and Mrs. Stokes had left a few minutes ago to go grab some coffee, and Grissom had had to go to the lab before getting the chance to see Nick.

The air was thick and suffocating, and Sara mumbled something about going to take a walk but no one really said anything – Greg just nodded at her, and she went outside. The cool night air filled her nostrils as she silently breathed.

She simply stood there, watching people come and go, trying to calm down.

Her mind kept playing some memories over and over: the tape, Nick in the coffin, the explosion, the fire ants, finding Nick…

Good God, what would have happened if _she _were the CSI on the case?

They would have found her, she knew they would. But would she have lasted that long? Would she have been as strong as Nick was?

She truly didn't know.

She had nothing to live for. What would have given her the motivation to move on?

She felt a chill run through her body and she knew it had nothing to do with the cold breeze around her.

"Any news on Nick's condition?"

The voice startled her, making her jump a little as Grissom approached. He looked exhausted, and she wondered how she looked right now.

"No. The guys are in there waiting for some update. How did it go with Ecklie?" She managed to say.

"Good. The team should be back together soon." He said quietly, staring at the sky. "How are you doing, Sara?"

"I'm fine." She said quickly, diverting her eyes from him.

He sighed. That was an automatic answer by now.

"Nick's going to be alright, Sara. No need to think about the whys or ifs."

"I know. But sometimes we can't help it. Life is too short to be wasted, Griss. I'm tired of wasting mine." Sara said, feeling his gaze on her.

They stood in silence for a couple of moments, and then Sara decided to make eye-contact. As their eyes locked, Grissom opened his mouth to speak.

"Hey, guys. We can go see Nick." They heard Greg's voice behind them, making them both turn. Without looking into Grissom's eyes, Sara smiled slightly at Greg and followed him into the hospital once more, knowing that despite of anything Grissom would have said, nothing would have changed.

* * *

_June_

"_Sara, what a surprise to hear you at this time of the day! Everything alright? I hope you're not into any sort of trouble to have to call me at the office."_

Sara walked around her apartment nervously.

"No, no trouble. How are Monica and the boys?"

"_They're all fine. Caleb is starting pre-school soon, he's very excited about it."_

"That's lovely. Tell them all I said hi."

"_I will. They'll be very excited to hear from you."_

"I'm glad to hear that. I miss you guys." Sara said, smiling nervously. "Richard, I'm not making a social call. I've made a decision, but I want your opinion about it."

"_Bring it on, Sar."_

"I want to have Henry's baby."

* * *

She needed an outside opinion, different from Richard's.

That's when she decided that she would talk to Grissom, since he was the perfect person for this task. At first she didn't want to – well, she could change her mind, after all. And it was Grissom.

There were so many cons on this situation. A baby wasn't simple – they required full time attention, something she didn't have.

_Yeah, but I'll have maternity leave anyway._

Plus, she was single. If it was hard for couples, imagine for a single mom.

_Catherine handles it. Why can't I?_

Babies were expensive, too.

_But I gain enough, and I have my savings. Money probably wouldn't be an issue, at least for the next years._

She didn't know how to handle a child.

_Well, everyone learns how to._

She would change her whole life for a baby.

_But isn't it what I want?_

It is.

She really needed an outside opinion, and she was sure Grissom would be sincere. But did she really want to talk to him about it?

Deep down, she still had some hope he would do something about this thing they had. He seemed inclined to do so, occasionally. She caught him staring at her several times, and she even caught him looking at her lips while they were watching a movie once.

And she gave him chances. Like a few days ago, when they had gone stargazing as he promised. The environment was great, they were almost alone – except for another couple who was pretty far away from them – and it seemed like the perfect opportunity. Yet, nothing happened.

Well, for them, because the other couple became a bit busy after some time. And then Grissom invited her to leave.

_Other couple. There was no 'other couple'. There was a couple, no 'other'. Sara Sidle and Gilbert Grissom were not a couple._

So that was it? She would be wasting her life waiting for Grissom to do something. Her rational side told her he would never do such a thing. He wouldn't risk anything, she knew it. But her irrational side kept expecting him to come to her and kiss her senseless until they were both out of air.

She couldn't do this anymore. And that was her way to move on.

So now she sat on his couch during this late afternoon, after they had breakfast – or dinner, whatever – and talked about their last case together.

"Greg didn't handle the case very well," Sara said, "I don't blame him. It's never easy when the victim is still alive, especially after all this tragedy in her life. Maybe you should… speak to him. He worships you, you know."

He smirked at her.

"Yeah, he worships _you, _not me. But I'll talk to him if you think it will help." Grissom said quietly.

They were silent for a couple of moments and Sara took a deep breath before speaking again.

"Grissom, I… I wanted to talk to you. About something that has been in my mind for a while. I need some outside opinion, actually." She smirked and he looked intrigued. "I, um… I want your opinion as my friend, mostly. After that, you can talk as my boss or whatever else."

_Whatever else? That was a good one, Sidle._

She took a deep breath as he waited patiently for her to continue. Her voice was strong and sounded sure when she spoke again.

"I'm going to have a baby."

* * *

A/N: Sorry it took me a while to update. Summer vacation just started so I kept myself busy doing nothing (come on, everyone needs rest). I'll try to update soon, but that will depend on the feedback! What do you think? How will Grissom react to Sara's news? Please tell me what you think! Your reviews always make me happy. Thanks for reading anyway!

_Maddie_


	5. A Waltz For A Night

**Chapter Four – A Waltz for a Night**

"Grissom, I… I wanted to talk to you. About something that has been in my mind for a while. I need some outside opinion, actually." She smirked and he looked intrigued. "I, um… I want your opinion as my friend, mostly. After that, you can talk as my boss or whatever else."

When Sara said she needed his opinion on something, Grissom was expecting this something to be like: _I'm planning on redecorate my apartment; will you come with me to choose the walls' colors?_

So, yeah, you could say he was surprised when he heard what she said.

"I'm going to have a baby."

A million of thoughts crossed his mind as he stared dumbly at her, digesting what she said.

_What?_

_Sara's having a baby?_

_Sara's having a baby._

_With whom? Probably that Ted guy. Possibly the same guy from the picture._

_She's going to be a mother._

_But she always says she's not good with kids!_

_Well, but she is good with kids._

_She's going to be a great mother. Why am I not happy about it?_

_And why is she asking my opinion about it?_

_As her friend? She's going to be a great mother._

_As her boss? We all know pregnancy is not an issue._

_As her 'whatever else'? I have no idea._

"Oh."

Yeah, that's what he managed to say after her statement.

Damn, she looked nervous.

What did this have to do with him, anyway?

"Um… Okay. Have you told the, um, father yet?" He asked her, after having recovered from the initial shock.

"Oh. No, you misunderstood me. I'm not pregnant _yet_." She explained, sounding excited. "I went to my doctor last week and apparently everything's fine. I'm waiting for the tests' results, but he says I should be perfectly well to have a child."

"That's good, that's… And what does Ted think about it?" He asked before even realizing what he was speaking. Sara stared at him in surprise.

"Ted is… How do you know about Ted?"

"I heard him at your phone a few weeks ago."

She laughed.

"You think Ted is my boyfriend? No, he's just an old friend of mine. He won't be the father. He'll be the baby's grandfather." Sara said, and Grissom frowned. "I'm not seeing anyone. I'm not conceiving this baby conventionally. I'm using my friend's sperm. Ted's son's sperm."

"Okay. Can I ask… why?"

She took a deep breath once more, before looking straight into his eyes.

"I have a steady job, a good career. I've settle down for a couple of years now. But I suck at relationships," She said, smirking a little at him. "I'm thirty-three. I won't be able to have children forever, and now… I'm good, I feel good, but something's missing. I don't plan on spending the rest of my life waiting to find a guy I love and loves me back to decide to have children with him. This is… real life, no fairy tale. So I thought… Well, if I have something to come home to, maybe I'll… I don't know, change. And change sometimes is… good."

He nodded at her remark, thinking about how the last changes affected their relationship. She continued speaking.

"I never really wanted children but this feels… right. I always thought I wouldn't have children because of what happened to me, but now… Now I want to make sure my child has the childhood I didn't have. I feel like I should do this, that this is the thing I need, but… And then I remembered Henry. He, um… died in a car accident six years ago. I had known him for twelve years, and he left me his… well, you know, in case my life didn't go as planned."

She waved her hand in the air with an exasperated sigh. She looked expectantly at him.

"What do you think about it?"

_Great. What am I going to say? I don't know what I think about it! Couldn't she have asked Greg or Nick?_

"Well… You _are_ good with children. But you need to be sure about what you're doing." He said, because he really didn't know what else to say. "It's a big risk. You're still so young, Sara. You don't need to do this if you're thinking about your age."

Why was he trying to point things out like that?

"'_If you don't risk anything you risk even more_.'I can't continue like this. My life won't change much within' the next years, I'm sure of that. I'll still be here. As always." She said, and he couldn't help but notice a somewhat sad tone in her voice. "I know I'm still young, but I feel like this is the right time. But I need you to tell me what you think."

What did he think? Well, she was citing Erica Jong and that intrigued him.

But about this thing? Hell, he had no idea.

He wanted her to be happy. That was the truth.

"I… I want you to be happy. If this you will make you happy, you have my full support." He smiled. "You'll be a great mother. That I can tell."

She smiled broadly at him from the couch she was sitting on, and that smile was worth everything they had talked about so far.

"Thanks. You have no idea how much that means to me." She said.

Grissom faked a smile for her.

* * *

_July_

"Sara wants to have a baby." Grissom said, drinking the amber liquid in a single gulp.

Brass seemed surprised by his statement, and stared at his friend, who was busy pouring himself another glass of bourbon.

"Well. Good for her." The detective said, watching Grissom closely. "Are you happy for her?"

"Yes. Yes, I am. She deserves to have someone, even if it's not a husband or a boyfriend. She's going to San Francisco tomorrow to do the procedure." He explained, pausing before drinking the remaining liquid in the glass at once, again. "I'm very glad she's doing something she wants."

Brass smiled at the bitterness he heard on Grissom's voice.

"You know, Gil, for years I've been watching the two of you- when Sara came to Vegas, she worshipped you. She was your little academic star. Anyone could see that." Brass said, with a serious expression on his face. "Look, I don't know what happened in the following years. What I do know is that a few years ago, she stopped smiling. But she has been smiling more lately. And that's because _you_ are friends again."

"Where are you going with this, Brass?"

"What I'm trying to say is… Stop dancing around and doing nothing and go to her." Brass said, smiling almost unnoticeably. "The hell with the job. The hell with your careers. You two won't be fired just because you're in a relationship. Give her a chance, Gil."

Grissom stared at Brass as if he had grown another head. He drank his third glass of bourbon and stood up.

"I think it's time for me to go home. Thanks for the drinks and the company, Jim."

"Anytime."

* * *

Sara watched through the peephole a nervous Gil Grissom looking expectantly at her apartment's door. She didn't expect him, and with a surprised expression on her face, she unlocked the door and then stood face to face with her boss.

"Hello, Sara."

"Hey, Griss. Wasn't expecting you." She tentatively said, trying to read into his neutral face. "Come on in."

He did so, and she suddenly felt very self-conscious. Her apartment was organized, but she was wearing a ponytail, sweatpants and some old t-shirt. She could only hope Grissom would not notice, which was basically impossible.

"So, um… Are you alright?" He asked her as she motioned for him to take a seat beside her on the couch.

"Sure, why wouldn't I be?" She asked nonchalantly, but just then realized what he meant. "Oh. You're talking about tomorrow. I'm great. Really, I am."

He looked deeply into her eyes, as if asking them if she was saying the truth, and she found herself drowning into those pretty blue eyes. Soon he looked away, apparently interested on observing her decoration.

"Are you here because of this? To check on me?" She finally asked him.

He seemed surprised with her words.

"I can- Well, I can go if I interrupted anything, I'm sure you have to pack and leave things ready for tomorrow." He suggested, but she shook her head.

"I have everything ready for tomorrow. You interrupted nothing. I was just thinking about what to do when you arrived. Can I get you anything to drink?"

"No, thanks. So, um… Sara, are you sure you want to do this?"

She found it incredibly sweet that he had been worried about her decisions, and she would have fallen for him all over if she hadn't already done that all those years ago.

_But we'll always be just friends._

"Yes, I'm sure. I know I'm gonna need thousands of things to make it real, but I think the thing I need the most is only a few months away. I know it sounds crazy, but… well." She stopped abruptly, not really knowing what to say. Grissom remained silent. "Hell, I'm really doing this, aren't I?"

She let out a small nervous laugh, and Grissom looked at her as if realizing something she never did.

"No need to worry, Sara. You're going to be the best of mothers."

Sara smiled.

"Thanks, Griss. I can only hope so." He grinned slightly at her, and she decided she could use some company tonight. "I think I need a drink. Don't know when I might be able to drink alcohol again, so… Will you join me?" She felt his hesitation. "Come on, Grissom. Just one drink. And I don't want to drink alone, it's way too depressing."

"Fine, then. What do you have?"

Sara got up and walked towards her kitchen, opening a few cupboards.

"I have… Beer, but I think I need something a little bit stronger. Oh, there it is!" She said, picking up a bottle of tequila. "It's been years since I've drank tequila. Colleen gave it to me last time she visited. When we first became CSIs, we would cope with the cases by drinking lots of shots of this baby." She grabbed two small glasses he recognized as the proper ones to drink tequila. She eyed him worriedly. "We could drink something else if you don't want to. I mean, I know you like bourbon, and…"

"No problem with tequila."

He smiled, standing up and walking towards the pictures he had seen a few weeks ago.

"How old were you when this picture was taken?" He asked as she sat the bottle and the glasses on the coffee table.

"Um… I think I was six at the time. I remember when my father took that picture. It had been a fine day." She said, not willing to explain more than that, but smiling all the same. She looked at the other pictures. "That one was taken right after you were in town, Griss. We had a bad case, so Henry thought we could use some company and some alcohol. That's Henry, by the way." She pointed at the picture with the smiling young man with a smiling Sara. "It was Thanksgiving when the picture was taken. We always spent it together. This was his last one."

He stared at her all the time while she spoke, feeling more close to her than he ever was. It was rare to see Sara so willingly giving a part of her life to anyone, especially to him.

"I'm sorry about what happened to him. You were a pretty couple." Grissom said, trying not to put any bitterness in his voice.

She let out a small chuckle.

"We were never a couple. Never were, never would. He was my best friend." She said. "He was my foster brother. His family took me into their home after my real brother left the system. I was sent to seven different families in the first three years. I stayed with Henry's family for only a year, but it had been the best year of my life. Then I went to college, and they kept inviting me over – to Christmas, birthdays, Easter… They treated me like I was a part of the family."

"They sound like a nice family."

"They are. Six months before Henry's death, Charlotte died." Sara pointed at the smiling woman on the other picture. "Uterine cancer. She was the best person I've ever met. Used to say I was the daughter she never had. And she was always the one to remind me to visit my own mother. They were all devastated when she died. I was, too. And a few months later, with Henry… They were such a great family. Ted was a wreck when it happened."

"It must have been really hard." Grissom said, presuming that the older man on the same picture as Charlotte was Ted.

"It was. Henry was crazy. He drove everyone crazy after his death. His will was very complete – he made everything very clear, with some special crazy regarding some of his things." Sara chuckled. She eyed him. "So, tequila? I'm afraid I'm out of lemons, we'll have to drink it like the Mexicans do."

They made their way to the couch as Sara poured them both a glass.

"I'm sorry if I'm not as good as a drinking partner as Brass." She said, grinning.

"I'm sure it'll be a good change of scenario." He said, grinning, and she winked at him before raising her glass. "Cheers."

He hesitantly drank it, thinking about his previous three glasses of bourbon, but for once he didn't care. He would enjoy this moment with Sara. His friend, Sara.

Perhaps they really could make this friendship work, after all.

They talked and laughed and talked more, and Sara thought that maybe she _could_ fall for him all over again when his eyes seemed to shine even more than before, and they seemed to be shining for her. She wouldn't know if it was her own eyes playing a trick on her or if it was because she just poured herself her fourth drink and everything seemed to shine a bit more.

She thought about stopping the drinking thing, but she hadn't shared a drink with Grissom since San Francisco – and he seemed so much more open and carefree after his third drink that she couldn't bring herself to stop either. They both seemed to be having fun, after all.

At some point, Sara couldn't remember exactly when, her stereo was playing some soothing music and Grissom was laughing while telling her that Catherine was very weird without make-up, and she didn't know exactly why, but she laughed hard with him.

They emptied the bottle of tequila and decided to go for the beer.

"You know, I don't think I've ever seen you drinking beer." She mentioned, stumbling over a few words when she got up to grab their second round of beer.

"And I don't think I had seen you drinking tequila before tonight." Grissom said, with a little more confidence than she did, and watched as she walked back to her kitchen.

"And I don't think you know that I've noticed that you've been staring at my butt every time I get up." She teased while opening another beer.

He stared at her somewhat dreamily before speaking again, when she was already halfway to the couch.

"Maybe we should stop…" He said slowly, as if he was trying to almost spell the words he spoke, when Sara tripped and would have fallen if he hadn't, although clumsily, grabbed her arms from smacking the ground.

At that point, Sara began laughing so hard that he tried to memorize the scene. There she was, half of her body on the floor, while he supported the other half from falling.

"You think we sh-should stop drinking? If you could pick me up, I'm sure you're not that drunk yet." She said between silly giggles.

"Believe me, Sara, I'm quite drunk. It's late, and you have a flight tomorrow. I should get going." He said, and Sara clumsily sat by his side again. A little too close, he noticed.

"It's not that late! This is the last beer. And I wouldn't sleep, anyway." She stubbornly insisted and he relaxed a little. "Are you saying this just 'cause I noticed you staring?"

"No, I mean, I'm sorry, but… you do have a nice butt." Grissom said, taking one more sip from his beer.

Sara smiled dreamily at him.

"Thanks. So do you."

They sat there staring at each other's eyes for what seemed like hours until he realized Sara's beer was slipping from her hand.

Of course, when he realized it, it was too late. The beer had already hit the floor and Sara was laughing even harder as he bent over to grab the bottle.

He decided he loved her laugh.

"Don't worry, Griss, it's just a beer." She said, and he vaguely thought that she was speaking in a terribly funny way. He felt a hand on his shoulder pulling him back to the couch and he noticed his free hand was now resting dangerously on her upper thigh, while her right hand now rested on the back of his neck.

"Well, the beer's over. Guess it's time to go." He said, not daring to look at her.

"Or we could do something else." She suggested.

He remained silent while she rested her head on his shoulder, hooking her arm on his elbow.

"You smell good." She said quietly, before getting even closer. "Everything will change tomorrow. Maybe we should enjoy tonight with everything still normal."

He wasn't in his best state of mind, but he understood fully what she meant. She was asking if he knew what to do about this.

He knew.

He should get up, say good night, leave, and talk to her on Monday. That's it.

But he didn't.

He kissed her.

Tentatively at first, something that surprised them both. His beer fell onto the floor much like hers, but this time no one noticed it. And suddenly her hands were in his hair and he was pulling her to him.

We shouldn't be doing this." He said between kisses. She giggled.

"Probably not."

But they didn't stop.

Soon she was on his lap and he was playing with her shirt, and he vaguely remembered a little voice telling him to stop.

But he couldn't hear anything as Sara kissed him once more.

* * *

**A/N: **I guess this is the moment everyone has been expecting (even _I _was expecting it). I was going to wait a little longer to update, partially because I thought this would be a difficult chapter to write, but it wasn't.

But what happens next? Will Sara go to San Francisco? Will Grissom tell her his feelings? Tell me what you guys think – what should happen next? :) I'll try to update soon.

Hope you enjoyed the chapter, thanks for reading!

_Maddie_


	6. Waking up in Vegas

**Chapter Five – Waking Up in Vegas **

Sara felt slightly out of place when she came to her senses on that Saturday afternoon. Ugh, she really shouldn't have drunk so much. She remembered little after she grabbed the first beer, and she made a mental note of never drink that much again. She was always weak when it came to tequila. Three shots and she has had enough.

Boy, what a night. And she had had weird dreams, too.

She knew she would have to get up soon, and she sighed quietly while thinking about the hangover that was already coming. Damn, she was technically going to get pregnant in two days, and this is how she shows herself how mature and responsible she is.

She pulled the covers to herself, feeling a bit cold.

She opened her eyes abruptly and looked at herself.

_Why the hell am I naked?_

She frowned, thinking about the odds to make her go to sleep naked. She never slept naked. Not even after she's had sex or anything. She simply wasn't a naked sleeper.

And as if to answer her question, she heard a loud snore coming from the other side of the bed.

_Shit._

She closed her eyes once more, wishing this was a dream.

_No, not now, not when everything was so good…_

She opened her eyes again, deciding she couldn't postpone everything. She had a flight to catch, people to see _and _a baby to make. Plus, if she just left a note or something, it would probably be easier for them to pretend nothing happened when she came back.

_Maybe it's not Grissom. Maybe it's nothing. Maybe I'm still sleeping._

But it was Grissom on her bed when she looked over. She couldn't see his face since he was facing the other side of the room. He was laying on his stomach, and she could only thank whatever God that existed that he had the sheets covering his body until it reached his waist.

Grissom.

Naked.

On her bed.

_Shit._

She closed her eyes once more as she felt him shifting, and she decided it would be a good time to get up, yet she could not move.

How ironic that this happened after all these years, just when she was happy being his friend and trying to vanish not so friendly thoughts about him.

Yeah, that would be sort of a difficult thing to do now.

Maybe they didn't have sex. Yeah, could be it. They were both very drunk; she herself couldn't remember much from last night. Yeah, that was completely possible.

Unless her dreams hadn't been… well, dreams. They had been way too good, anyway. At least what she remembered.

_Now that was a pretty wise thing to do, Sara. Getting drunk like this and having sex with your boss. And oh, you're not nineteen; you're fucking thirty-three. This is something you should have learnt not to do by now._

Sara unconsciously sighed, but regretted it immediately when Grissom stopped moving.

_Shit._

Maybe, if he woke up, she could pretend to be sleeping, and he would panic and leave her apartment soon.

_Damn, this is Grissom. He might be a jerk sometimes, but I don't see him as someone who would do that to anyone. Especially not with me._

Sara carefully sat up in bed, taking most of the sheets with her, while Grissom was still on his stomach, facing the other side of the bedroom. Sara looked around skeptically. Their clothes had been thrown recklessly across the floor, and when she looked over through the living room, she saw her shirt resting in the arm of the couch. _Maybe that's where things started_, she thought.

God, she wished she could at least remember most of it. But right now, and it didn't matter if Grissom was asleep or awake, she needed to get up. She had to be in the airport in two hours, and before that she needed a shower, a coffee and a hangover medicine.

* * *

When Grissom woke up that morning, he knew something wasn't right.

Was it the light? Maybe he forgot to close the curtains before going to sleep. His head was already feeling the effects of a bad hangover, and he kept his eyes closed. He remembered very little after his third shot of tequila. He did remember a beer falling onto the carpet, and a soft breath on his neck…

He put the thought at bay. No sense on fantasizing with Sara while in pain.

He turned, laying on his side, his head leaving the pillow.

No, it wasn't the light, but something was still off. Was he smelling coconut? He didn't know why, but it reminded him of Sara.

Thinking carefully, he realizes he must have dreamt with her – weird blurry images were in his head as he wished he hadn't drunk so much.

Then he heard a noise.

It sounded like someone was opening a door or something.

His eyes shot open only to see a nightstand he didn't recognize. Or a door. Or anything in the room.

_Crap._

He rubbed the sleep off his eyes, wondering how he got where he was. And he was naked!

Something _really _wasn't right.

His eyes watched intently the rest of the room, and his mind couldn't stop thinking.

_Fine, Gil, let's replay the events. You visited Brass, had three glasses of bourbon. You went to Sara's place, God knows why, and drank three shots of tequila. Why did you dream about a beer, then? Never mind. There were bigger questions to be answered._

_Why are you naked on Sara's bed?_

Well, maybe he slept alone. It didn't mean anything. It didn't mean they had sex just because he woke up naked on her bed.

_Damn, I'm not a college student, for God's sake! When did I wake up naked on someone else's bed without remembering a thing about what happened?_

_Well, never._

He stretched and sat on the bed, glancing towards the items of cloth that seemed to be taken out unceremoniously and dropped on the carpet.

_Just great, _he thought, as his eyes widened when he saw the distinct shape of a rather fancy bra on the floor.

He peeked under the bed to find his boxers – and he shivered slightly when he saw, only a few inches away, panties that matched the bra he had previously seen.

He could connect the dots. He had sex with Sara Sidle just a few hours ago, and he could hardly remember anything.

_Just great._

What was he going to do about it? Well, maybe he didn't remember much of it, but he was certain that maybe this wasn't a bad thing. Perhaps it could be just the thing he needed, so that he could say everything he had wanted to say to Sara the night before.

But now, where was his shirt?

* * *

Sara stood in her kitchen, nervously drinking some very much needed coffee. She didn't bring herself to go inside the bedroom after she left – she grabbed everything she needed before showering and proceeded to clean the living room carpet, as someone had dropped a beer onto the floor.

She put away all the beer bottles, all the while struggling with a terrible headache – and she couldn't tell if the headache's cause was because of the drinking or because she couldn't stop thinking about what she would say to Grissom when he woke up.

She looked at the clock, thinking about writing Grissom a simple note before she left. It's been more than an hour since she woke up, and she decided to call a cab to take her to the airport. She was halfway through the note when she heard the distinct noise of a door opening and looked up to see Grissom walking into the living room, shirtless, but with a serious expression on his face.

_Damn, his shirt's still on the couch._

Sara had to concentrate really hard to not stare at his bare chest and arms, and she tried to take things lightly – better than hear him say the night had been a mistake or something like that. She wouldn't pressure him. They were friends. She could do this.

"Good morning." She said, trying to sound casual as he put on his shirt.

"Good morning." He said simply, obviously not knowing what to say.

Thankfully, she did. Sort of.

"So… Breakfast?" He nodded and she motioned for him to sit on her breakfast bar. "I'm afraid I already ate. I have to leave for the airport in a few minutes. I was almost going over there to wake you up."

It wasn't true, but the words seemed to get out of her mouth before she had time to digest them. Grissom, on the other hand, remained quiet, merely nodding at her words. He seemed deep in thought, and she let him be, as always. Not for the first time – and she knew it wouldn't be the last either – she found herself trying to figure out what he was thinking.

They sat in an uncomfortable silence until Grissom spoke.

The tone in his voice made Sara shiver.

"Sara…"

_That's it, _she thought. _That's when he'll say something that we both know and that will change our relationship forever. I can't do this._

"Don't. Just… don't." She said, before he could say anything else. He stared at her. "Don't make this any more difficult. I'm not trying to find some excuse or anything, but we were both very drunk and… things got out of control. You don't need to pretend this is a relationship or anything. It never was. So… let's just forget what happened. Whatever it was. Okay?"

He remained silent for a few moments, before finally speaking.

"If that's what you want, Sara, it's fine."

She sighed. As if saving her from further embarrassment, the sound of a horn was heard. Sara peeked through the window, and looked at Grissom once more.

"My cab is here. I… Well, you can take the spare key. I'll see you on Monday." She said before heading towards the door with her suitcase in hand. She turned when she heard him call her name.

"I hope you get what you want from this trip. Enjoy San Francisco." He said quietly, and she stared at the floor before glancing at him.

"Thanks. Goodbye."

* * *

It was by late afternoon when Sara arrived in Vegas once more – she missed the ocean breeze immediately, but she was, somehow, starting to see Las Vegas as her home.

And that seemed like a good thing.

She looked around her apartment guiltily – she even admitted to herself that she was afraid to look into the bedroom.

Details of the last night she spent in that room were, thankfully, not very clear. That made things not _that_ bad – truth was, she wasn't very sure about what happened between her and Grissom. And, although she wanted to, it was better not to know.

At least the living room was clean.

She made her way to the bedroom, intending to change clothes and start cleaning, but her eyes seemed to be focused on her bed. How could she not remember?

Maybe they didn't have sex. Maybe her weird memories were dreams after all.

_Oh, the hell with it. I need to know what happened. If not by remembering, by other ways._

She opened her CSI kit, that had been resting on her closet, and closed her curtains before turning to her equipment.

Five minutes later, she sighed tiredly. A simple look told her what happened. It didn't need to be a CSI to know that that meant sex.

_Oh, but isn't it just great?_

She took off the glasses and locked her kit, returning it to its place. She rubbed her temples and looked around once more.

Then she realized something.

_Oh, God._

She bent down and looked at the floor, her eyes wondering through it in an almost desperate way.

_This isn't happening. And I didn't even think about it!_

She made her way to the bathroom, but found nothing. She rummaged through drawers and her garbage can, and found nothing. She sat on her unmade bed, refusing to look at it, and rested her head on her hands.

_Holy crap. We didn't use a condom._

* * *

_August_

The weeks went by and neither Grissom nor Sara said a word about that night – Grissom even asked her about her trip, but it had been nothing more than that. They had to be thankful that at least none of the others seemed to notice anything.

And now, weeks after the faithful night, Sara paced inside her apartment, unsure of what to do.

She should be happy. That's what she wanted, after all.

_I'm so stupid._

So she wanted to have a baby. Well, at least she'd get one. The problem was that she didn't know who the father was.

_Don't be idiot, Sara. Of course it's Henry's._

No. She couldn't be sure. Technically, she could have been pregnant by the time she reached the clinic in San Francisco.

But what were the odds, anyway?

Hell.

She knew most inseminations didn't work on the first try and, truth be told, she had been hoping that hers would be one of these. How ironic was that?

So, when she felt that her breasts were sore, she thought of it as a sign that the insemination didn't work (and neither did her night with Grissom, obviously). Sore breasts wouldn't be news to her, given her PMS. She was also very tired, but she blamed on the job, just as she did when she missed her period. When she felt nauseous yesterday _and _today, she thought it was time to stop with the excuses. A simple test proved her suspicions to be right.

She was pregnant.

She was pregnant, and she didn't know who the father was.

The thought made her want to cry all of sudden, and she couldn't help but think if the hormones were already talking for themselves. She breathed slowly and calmly, and hesitantly rested her hands on her lower belly. It was difficult to imagine that a new person was growing on her body. She smiled.

She also couldn't deny the fact that she was happy, incredibly happy.

* * *

She needed to tell someone. She couldn't keep this to herself any longer. It had been two days since she discovered that she was pregnant, and despite the fact that she called her doctor's office to arrange an appointment, she hadn't said a thing to anyone.

"_Hello?"_

"Colleen. It's Sara."

"_Hey, Sar! How are you doing?"_

"I'm great, I… Are you busy or…?"

"_Nah, it's my day off and Scott is not home. What's up?"_

"Actually, I've got something to tell you."

"_Oh, my God. It worked, didn't it? You're pregnant!" _Colleen squealed; she obviously couldn't hide her excitement. _"Now we can have our babies together! Last night I dreamt that I was pregnant. I think I am."_

"That's great, I…"

"_Oh, my! Someone's pretty fertile, huh? I mean, most inseminations don't work at the first try. That's so great! Are you happy?"_

Sara paused, waiting for Colleen to continue her usual babble, but smiled when realized her friend was waiting for her to answer her question.

"I am. Very happy." She sighed. "But I think I might be in trouble."

"_Trouble? What kind of trouble?"_

"The worst kind. I'm not… I'm not sure if Henry's the father, Colleen." She closed her eyes. It seemed even worse when she voiced her thoughts.

"_You don't… Who did you sleep with?"_

"Grissom."

There was a moment of silence on the other end as Sara waited for Colleen's squealing.

"_You sassy little thing, you! You had sex with Gil Grissom- Gil Grissom! I totally knew you two would fool around sometime."_ She said, laughing. _"Tell me, how was it? Is he good?"_

"Colleen! I… I don't remember much, it happened the night before I went to San Fran, and we were both drunk. I don't remember much." Sara said, sounding exasperated.

"_But you do remember something, right?"_

"Well, I… Some of it, not many details, but…"

"_Oh. I know that tone. Bet it was good, huh?"_ Colleen teased, chuckling. _"I knew it would happen sooner or later. You've had the hots for him ever since you two met."_

"Yeah, whatever. We had a one night stand. I… oh, God, how am I going to tell this to Ted? They'll think I'm this opportunist slut that…"

"_Are you sure it's possible for Grissom to be the father?_

"We had sex two days before my appointment in San Francisco."

"_I see. He gave you this sweet 'goodbye, have a nice trip' gift, huh?" _Colleen chuckled, but stopped immediately when Sara called her name, sounding frustrated. _"Sorry. So, you're pregnant with either Henry's or Grissom's child. You could run a DNA test after you've reached the four months mark."_

"Yeah, I've read about that. But it's pretty expensive. And I'd have to tell Grissom."

"_Yeah, but if it turns out that Grissom's not the father, you could spare the weird talk with Ted." _Silence was the only answer Colleen got. "_So, are you gonna tell Grissom?"_

Sara sighed.

"I don't know."

* * *

_A week later_

"Are you feeling alright, Sara?" Greg asked her for the millionth time in the last half an hour.

Well, but to say that she was alright would be exaggerating a bit. She simply couldn't keep anything down; her doctor advised her that morning sickness could last all day, but she didn't think it would be so bad. Today it was even worse. She had barely made it through the yellow tape when she emptied her already empty stomach. Catherine sent her back to the lab even though she claimed she was fine, and Greg was the chosen one to babysit her.

"I'm just feeling a bit lightheaded, Greg. No big deal." She said, yawning after a few seconds.

"You look tired. Have you been sleeping well?" Greg said, offering her a cup of coffee.

"No, thanks." She replied, standing up and walking towards the fridge. She decided it would be best to eat something; perhaps the nausea would go away eventually. She felt slightlydizzy, and the smell of strong coffee certainly wasn't helping anything.

"Now I know you're sick. How come you're saying no to coffee? It's the blue Hawaiian we're talking ab…"

But she didn't hear the rest of what Greg was saying because everything went dark.

* * *

A/N: Consider this an early Christmas present – I'll try update next week, but can't promise anything.

Now, about the story. Will Sara tell Grissom? What's going on with her? Did they _really '_do it' that night? Reviews are very much welcomed, I love to hear what you're thinking. Thanks for reading, have a nice weekend!

_Maddie_


	7. Breakthru

**Chapter Six - Breakthru**

He couldn't lie to himself; Sara surprised him. He could have tried to be sincere with her that morning. But really, how could he? She had seemed so sure of herself. And he had already hurt her so much. He didn't want her to be anymore hurt. She had had enough of that in her life.

So, yes, he did nothing. For once, he let her choice be his choice. He owed her this much.

She came back, they worked together as well as before, and she mentioned nothing about having a baby or anything like that. She would tell him when it happens, he figured. He knew most inseminations didn't work on the first try.

An uneventful month went by. An uneventful month in which he couldn't stop thinking about her.

Maybe if she decided against the baby thing, he could try to take her out on a date. Only that she seemed to not want to break the friendship line between them.

They were having a somewhat slow shift, with only one slightly major case, and he sent the guys to process the scene while he stayed at the lab, facing the growing pile of paperwork in his office. His phone rang and he sighed.

"Grissom." He closed his eyes, wishing for once he didn't have to work that night; he felt knackered. "Alright, burglary on Freemont. I'll be there in fifteen."

He had just closed his cell when he saw Greg entering his office.

"Grissom, it's Sara. She wasn't well at the scene, so Catherine sent us back to the lab. And now she just fainted in the break room. I was able to catch her before she fell, but she's out." The younger man said, sounding a bit hysterical.

Grissom was immediately on his feet.

* * *

When Sara finally woke up, she thought everything was way too bright. She could hear people walking and someone talking, but couldn't figure out who it was. When she opened her eyes, she immediately saw Greg's terrified face looking at her; on his side, Grissom was staring at her expectantly.

"Sara! Thank goodness you woke up. You were out for a couple of minutes. How are you feeling?" The young man asked her in a gentle tone. She smiled weakly at him from her spot in the break room couch, rolling her eyes.

"I'm alright. It was just a dizzy spell, I feel fine now." She said, slowly moving to a sitting position. Just as she moved her head, she had to lay down instantly, still feeling a bit dizzy.

"We're going to the hospital." Grissom said out of sudden.

"No! No, I don't need to go to the hospital, I…" Sara started, but he didn't listen to her.

"Greg, I want you to take this burglary, call Brass and he'll tell you the directions. I'm taking Sara to the hospital." The young man nodded and left the room immediately as Sara sat herself on the couch. She looked at him stubbornly. "I'm taking you to the hospital whether you like it or not. You don't get sick, Sara. You don't empty your stomach's contents near a crime scene and you don't faint in the break room."

She stood up reluctantly, using the couch's arm for support. She lost her balance for a second and felt his arm on her waist instantly.

"I'm not sick, Grissom." She looked around nervously, and for once enjoyed his proximity. "I'm pregnant. I don't need to go to the hospital."

She could tell he was surprised by her whisper, but quickly recomposed himself and looked right through her eyes.

"And you think pregnant women faint all the time? You'll want this to be checked." He said in a quiet voice. "Do you think you can walk now?"

"Yes. Yes, I can walk to the car."

Truth be told, she felt tired and weak. She felt a bit hungry too, but wasn't sure she could eat something and hold it in her stomach. Groaning slightly, she tried not to think about Grissom; surely he knew her baby was Henry's.

For the first couple of minutes in the car, they were silent. Grissom didn't push to get any information from her, and she knew she wouldn't deliberately give him any. When they reached a red light, he turned to her.

"Still dizzy?"

"A little bit. Nothing to worry about." She answered, startled by his question. He turned to look at the road again, tapping on the wheel impatiently.

"You should have told me sooner." He said quietly, not looking at her.

His statement surprised her. What did he mean by that? Why would she tell him? Certainly he can't think the baby is his… even if she's not sure about it, she still hadn't figured out what to do about this situation.

"I found out last week. I don't even know how far along I am. I only have an appointment on Friday." She said, carefully choosing her words as they started moving again.

"Still, you should have told me. You know what policy says about pregnant CSIs. You'll have to tell Ecklie soon. And we'll need to be extra careful with you on a scene."

She breathed in relief.

"I know, I've been careful. But morning sickness has been a bitch." She said, closing her eyes and missing his smile.

* * *

The emergency room wasn't too crowded when they got there, and they waited no more than fifteen minutes until Sara was called. A nurse took her blood pressure and a few samples of her blood while Sara kept saying she was feeling fine, but Grissom knew better than that. He could see that she was still feeling dizzy and she kept breathing slowly, obviously trying to contain the nausea.

He wouldn't lie to himself; he had been surprised when Sara told him she was pregnant. Of course, he was expecting her to be pregnant soon, since she was healthy and wanted a baby, but he also knew most inseminations didn't work on the first try, and Sara hadn't told him anything about it. Then again, she went to San Francisco what, five weeks ago?

But then, seeing it that way… It had been five weeks since he spent the night with her.

_Damn it. Maybe there is a chance…_

No. No, Sara would have told him.

Suddenly the curtains around Sara's bed opened and a young woman stepped in, wearing scrubs and a smile on her face. She looked way too young to be a doctor, in Grissom's opinion.

"Hello, you must be Sara. I'm Dr Fisher." The woman said, shaking Sara's hand with a bright smile that reached her eyes, and then turning to Grissom. "You must be the father."

He felt his cheeks blush.

"No, I'm not her father, I'm her…" He started to say, but the young woman laughed.

"I meant the baby's. Why are men always like this?" Dr Fisher said, turning to Sara once more, who seemed to be torn between laugh at his confusion and clarify everything to the doctor. "So, Sara, you're a little anemic and dehydrated. Have you been experiencing severe morning sickness?"

"It's more like an 'all day' sickness." Sara said.

"Yes, that's normal. A pain in the ass, but normal. Have you been to the doctor yet?"

"No, I have an appointment on Friday."

"And this is your first pregnancy?"

"Yes."

"Okay. Well, unfortunately I can't do anything about the morning sickness, but I can give you something for the anemia and the dehydration. Are you feeling nauseated now?" Sara nodded and the doctor wrote something on her notes. She looked up at Sara and Grissom and smiled once more. "Okay, then. Let's take a look on your baby now, shall we?"

He stood up just as the doctor turned around, but Sara reached for his hand. He could understand what her eyes were telling him.

_Stay._

He did, not entirely sure if he understood why she wanted him there. Maybe he really could be…

_No, no, she just needs a friend_.

He kept holding her hand as the doctor put the gel on Sara's flat belly, and then it suddenly hit him that he would be watching Sara's child on the screen in front of them.

"So, are you hoping for a girl or boy?" The doctor asked, looking at them both expectantly while moving the transducer across the gel.

"As long as it's healthy, I don't care." Sara said. Grissom smiled at her.

The doctor moved the transducer and then stopped.

"Oh, there it is." Dr Fisher said, pointing at the screen. He blinked slightly, quickly figuring it out where the baby was. "See it? Let's hear the heartbeat." She pressed a button on the machine and a rapid pumping noise could be heard. The doctor smiled. "Looks like everything's fine."

He felt a slight tremble on his hand and looked at Sara, who was watching the screen intently with watered eyes. He had been so focused on the screen that he almost forgot her; it seemed almost surreal and he too felt an immense happiness.

"The baby is in its right place, so we don't have to worry with an ectopic pregnancy. We can also rule out twins. You said that your last period was… seven weeks ago. You're seven weeks pregnant. The baby's size is normal, the heartbeat is strong. Be prepared to change your lives." Dr Fisher said, looking at them both. "Your baby will be arriving in late March or in the beginning of April. Now, Sara, I can give you few tips that can control the morning sickness…"

As much as he wanted to hear what the doctor was saying, his eyes couldn't leave the screen.

_What if…?_

* * *

"Thank you for staying. I was a bit nervous." Sara said after the doctor left. They put an IV in her arm to help with the dehydration and she looked less pale than before.

"No problem. This was… interesting. I'm glad you let me stay. Even if the doctor addressed me as the father." He hesitantly said, watching her to see some reaction.

"Well, I thought it would only embarrass her if I told her the truth, and I was too…" She rumbled.

"I don't mind, Sara. It's no big deal." He said. "Are you feeling any better?"

"Yes, very much. I'm wondering what I'm going to ask my OB/GYN later this week, since I have no more questions. But I'm fine." She chuckled. He smiled.

"Well, I guess congratulations are in order, then."

He approached her, extending his arms, and carefully gave her a hug. She hugged him back, surprised at the interaction, and closed her eyes. She felt tears in them when he spoke again.

"I'm really happy for you, honey."

* * *

Sara followed Grissom's advice and went to see Ecklie on the following shift, making sure to tell Catherine about her condition too. She had been kind enough to not ask Sara who the father was – even though Sara could see the question in her colleague's eyes. Soon enough, the whole lab knew about it. Even who hadn't heard it through the grapevine could see something was off when Sara processed anything from the cases with masks, glasses, gloves – everything they already had to use and more. Warrick and Greg said nothing, only congratulated her. But she knew the question would come sooner or later.

She had just arrived from her doctor appointment on Friday when her doorbell rang. She went to see who it was, and smiled when she saw Grissom.

"Hey, Griss." She said, opening the door.

"Hello, Sara. Can I come in?" He asked her, and she noticed he seemed a bit impatient.

"Sure, come on in." She said, perplexed, closing the door after he entered her apartment. "Can I get you-"

"Sara, this isn't a social call. I take it your appointment turned out okay?"

She was surprised by the topic of this question, and she grew nervous within a second.

"Yes, everything's perfect."

"Then… Please, Sara, tell me the truth. I can connect the dots. It's been five weeks since we were together. I think I already know the answer and I thought you'd tell me, but…" He ran his fingers through his hair with an exasperated sigh. "Is there a chance that… Could you baby be mine too?"

* * *

**A/N:** Hello everyone. Don't know how, but between helping with the holidays, meeting my friends and family and wandering around the city, I managed to write this chapter. It's a bit shorter than the last one, but this is what I came up with. I actually wrote a few more paragraphs, but they'll make more sense in chapter seven.

I love your reviews, they make me _want _to write as soon as possible. Because, you know, sometimes we writers can be so lazy. I really hope you enjoyed this chapter, though.

Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night!

_Maddie_


	8. Tell Me What We're Gonna Do Now

**Chapter Seven - Tell Me What We're Gonna Do Now**

He had tried, over and over, to remember anything from the night he spent at Sara's apartment. The images were a blur in his mind. He remembered a few things; her lips, her skin, her neck… But nothing that would compromise anything. And yet, he knew what happened that night.

They had sex. Alright, no big deal.

_Yeah, right._

But he couldn't remember using any kind of protection. Hell, he couldn't remember even going to her bedroom.

So, if the numbers were right… He _could_be father. And the chances were not slim.

_We would have to go to Ecklie and the sheriff. Maybe if we explained everything they would let us work together. Catherine would handle Sara's evaluation. The team would still be together._

But Sara would talk to him about it. She just hasn't talked yet because… time was short.

Yes, yes, he would wait until she could tell him… And then try to figure out what to do.

* * *

"You know, it's hard to believe that Sara is _really_pregnant." Greg said one night, a couple of days after they had heard the news. He was watching Sara talk to Hodges from the distance, with Grissom on her side. Warrick glanced up and saw the two of them. "She never told me she was seeing someone."

"Maybe she isn't. Who knows, maybe the guy took off and that's why she's avoiding the subject. Don't push it, Greggo, she'll tell us when she's ready." Warrick said with a gentle expression before turning back to his magazine.

"Yeah, yeah, I know that. But still… Do you think Grissom knows something about this? I mean, she'd have told me if she told Grissom, right?" Greg asked, looking around the room. Catherine smiled.

"Greg, you should have learnt it long ago. You just don't try to understand those two. They have this dysfunctional unlabeled relationship. I'm not sure if _they_understand it." Catherine said. "I don't think Sara is seeing anyone. Maybe this baby is an independent production. Sounds nice to me, but I wish her luck. It's not easy to raise a child on your own."

Greg kept watching Sara walk away from Grissom as the supervisor approached the break room.

"You know, I've heard lots of crazy rumors ever since I started working here. Really crazy stuff, ya know? Like Brass hanging out with transsexuals, you and Warrick having an affair, Ecklie _being_a transsexual… Fine, maybe I made up a few of them," Greg said as Catherine stared at him in disbelief, "but_really,_yesterday I heard Judy saying that _Grissom_is Sara's baby's daddy. That _can't_be true, right?"

"Greg…" Warrick said while Catherine shook her head, smiling.

"No, for real, that can't be true. It's either that or Sara had an affair with another EMT, which I don't think she had because she had been pretty upset with the Hank thing. I mean, _someone_made this up, right?"

"Greg," Grissom's voice was loud and clear, making Greg shut up almost immediately, "I think you should concentrate on working right now. I'm sure Sara wouldn't like to know that you're talking about her life."

Greg nodded, and Grissom left the break room with the younger man right behind him, mumbling something about "Trace results", while Warrick resumed his reading and Catherine frowned, thinking about what had just happened.

* * *

He had just parked his car a few feet behind hers when he saw Sara exiting the vehicle and walking towards her apartment building. He sighed as he took in the sight of her; pregnancy was being good to her. He always thought of her as a beautiful woman, but she really was glowing these past few days.

That was it. She had just arrived from her doctor's appointment. She had yet to say anything to him. Surely she knew about all the rumors regarding her pregnancy. He just couldn't keep pretending he was fine with it.

He exited his car as well, using the extra key he used the morning she left before him. He wasn't really noticing anything; he kept thinking about what he was going to say. Before he knew it, he was knocking on her door, waiting for her to let him in.

He could see she was getting nervous when she started speaking, and he waited for the door to be closed before saying what he had to say.

"Sara, this isn't a social call. I take it your appointment turned out okay?"

She tensed up just as he stopped speaking.

"Yes, everything's perfect."

"Then… Please, Sara, tell me the truth. I can connect the dots. It's been five weeks since we were together. I think I already know the answer and I thought you'd tell me, but…" He ran his fingers through his hair with an exasperated sigh. "Is there a chance that… Could your baby be mine too?"

There was a pause in which Grissom got worried if Sara was actually breathing. He sighed and briefly wondered if he made a mistake by coming in her apartment this night.

"Well, I think you've been hearing too much gossip lately, Grissom." Sara said, chuckling out of nervousness and walking towards the kitchen. "Can I get you anything? I can't drink alcohol, of course, but I still have…"

"Sara," he said, moving to stand in front of her, on the other side of the breakfast bar, "I want you to be honest with me. We both know what happened that night, and now you're pregnant. We can't pretend nothing ever happened."

"Well, you were doing a fine job up until today!" She said in a quiet voice.

"I wasn't the only one doing so, and you know that." He stared at her, but she chose to look away. "Sara, look at me. I guess I never really asked you this, but… when you went to San Francisco…"

"Yes, Grissom. I had an artificial insemination." She said with little patience. She looked at him. "I wish I hadn't. It wasn't supposed to happen this way. I didn't think about our night together when I went to San Francisco."

"You should have told me there was no protection and I…"

"Oh, yes, sure, I should have told you to wear a condom. Who knows, maybe I did tell you that but you didn't listen. Oh, wait, maybe you wore a condom. Or maybe nothing happened. It's a little difficult for me to say because I can't remember _anything._" Sara said, looking at him with watered eyes. "This is not how I planned this. I was supposed to have Henry's baby. His family would be happy, I would be happy, but now… I was going to tell you, but I was afraid… I mean, you were obviously happy when I left that morning, so I…"

"I was happy? You never did let me talk. I figured that was what you wanted!" Grissom said, trying to ignore the tears that were threatening to fall from her eyes. "I don't remember much from that night either, but I wanted… God, Sara, I wanted to be with you. I wanted to take you out on a date, I wanted to remember what it was like to be with you, but I mostly wanted you to be happy."

He stared at her, waiting for some kind of reaction, but she seemed to be too busy trying to keep the tears from falling to say anything. He sighed. He didn't know what she wanted; hell, he didn't know what he wanted.

"I am not… I am not happy this way." She finally said, and a single tear fell, followed by another one. "I want… God, I don't know what I want. I just don't want you to do anything just because you feel obliged to do, I don't…"

She sobbed, unable to speak any longer. He made his way towards her, embracing her, although she was a bit reluctant in the beginning. Soon enough, she was embracing him as well, sobbing on his shirt, clinging to him as if her life depended on it.

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry I didn't tell you anything. I'm sorry I never let you say anything. I'm sorry." She said between sobs.

"You have nothing to be sorry for. I'm sorry for hurting you so many times. You were just protecting yourself. It's going to be fine." He said in a quiet voice, relieved that at least they had been sincere with each other. "We'll be alright, honey."

* * *

"I talked to my doctor about getting a DNA test before the baby's born." Sara said half an hour later, when they were both sat on her couch; Grissom had a cup of coffee in his hands, while Sara drank some tea. "I need to know. I want to be able to tell Ted if I'm expecting his grandchild. He'll want to know. I already have to explain everything to Richard. I don't want to do that with Ted too."

"Okay. If that's what you think it's best, we will…"

"I don't know if that's what I want. I mean… there are risks. I don't want to risk the baby's health." Sara explained, putting the tea aside as she felt the nausea returning. "An amniocentesis can be done by the fourth month of pregnancy, but it's invasive. What if…?"

She exhaled slowly, running her fingers through her hair. God, she was tired. She didn't have time to take a nap before going to the doctor, and when she arrived Grissom was there.

"What should I do, Griss?"

He almost said that this was her baby and she should decide it, but then he realized what she meant by asking him such a question.

This could be his baby too.

"As far as I know, amniocentesis carries a small risk to the baby if you've had a healthy pregnancy by the fourth month. But still… a risk is a risk. Did your doctor recommend it?"

"She said she wouldn't recommend it normally. I don't have any risk factor, such as age or illness, so she wouldn't recommend it to me. But we _could_know more about the baby with a test." She pointed out. "I don't know. I'll think about this later."

"Yes, that's probably better. I'll look for more info about this." Grissom said, holding her hand while talking. She didn't pull away, but kept staring at their linked fingers. He sighed uncomfortably, unsure of what to do. "Guess it's time for me to go. We both could use some sleep before tonight's shift."

He got up and Sara did the same, walking him to the door. He opened it unceremoniously and paused to look at her. She smiled weakly at him; it did not reach her eyes but it seemed sincere.

"Thank you for coming here. I feel… better. Relieved, even." She said quietly, leaning against the doorframe. "I have another appointment next month, and after that I may be able to learn the sex. Do you, um, want me to tell you? Because I'd rather know what I'm having, you know, to think of names and decorating…"

He smiled at her; she was adorable when she was nervous.

"I'd like to know. Maybe I could go with you?" He asked, uncertain, and her eyes glittered.

"Yeah. Yes, I'd like that. I'll, um… let you know, then." She smiled.

He hugged her one more time before leaving, and two minutes later he sat in his car, driving to his home, thinking about little boys playing baseball and young ballerinas.

* * *

"_So, how's my favorite pregnant lady doing?_" Colleen asked her almost as soon as she had answered the phone.

"She hates morning sickness and she has been sleeping more these past weeks than she had in six months." Sara said, stifling a yawn. "Oh, my baby may actually grow up with a father."

"_Oh my God, you told Grissom?"_

"He figured it out by himself. Can you believe it?" Sara asked her. "I was going to tell him, but…"

"_Of course I can believe it. The guy is a genius. Oh my, if your baby is his, she'll surely be a genius. With you as her mother and Grissom as her father, one cannot expect any less than that."_Colleen said, chuckling.

"'She'?"

"_I find it awkward to call a baby 'it', so I'm just gonna alternate between 'he' and 'she'. Although I secretly hope you'll have a girl."_ Colleen said, dreamily. Sara laughed. _"What? I want to buy this cute little pink dress I saw at a store yesterday. I thought of you immediately. I think I'll buy it anyway. You know, maybe in the future, if I don't have a girl or your first child is a boy, you can always have another bundle of joy and brains with Grissom."_

"I'm so not going down that road with you, Colleen." Sara said sternly. "How are you these days?"

"_Same. I've been bored at home, unemployment is a bitch, but I'm glad I left the lab. Oh, UNLV offered me a teaching position at the Chemistry Department. Just so you know, if I were single, I'd accept it so we could all live in the same city again."_ Colleen sighed. _"Scott hates that I left the lab. He's in New York at a conference, I'm almost glad we're apart. And my doctor ran some tests this week, to see if I have any problems. With all the medication I'm taking, I should have gotten pregnant months ago."_

"I'm sorry to hear that. How is Scott taking it?"

"_He doesn't say anything. I mean, he didn't even want to try to have a child, and he was really mad at me when he discovered I hadn't been taking my pills for months, but… I don't know, Sar."_Colleen said. _"Sometimes I wonder if Scott is father material."_

"Of course he is. Look at me. I'm no mother material, and here I am." Sara said. "It'll all be okay, Colleen. Don't worry. You're just too worried."

* * *

When Nick arrived for his first shift after the kidnapping, he thought everyone looked prettier. Even Hodges smiled at him when he saw the tech through the glass walls. When he got to his final destination – the break room – he only saw Warrick and Greg and he shook hands animatedly with both of them, glad to be there.

"How was Texas, man?" Warrick asked him once he was settled in his usual spot on the couch.

"Good, good. It was fun. First time in years since I took a real vacation." Nick said, smiling. "How was Vegas?"

"It's been an interesting couple of months." Greg answered him in a conspiracy tone. Warrick snorted. "The crimes are as bad as ever, but grapevine was never so interesting, believe me."

Nick had just opened his mouth to ask what was going on when Catherine, smiling and walking towards Nick. He gave her a big hug and they talked for a minute before she went to grab a cup of coffee and Nick turned to Greg again.

"What's up?"

Greg grinned.

"Number one, that thing with Brass hanging out with transsexuals was bullshit. Number two," He looked around, and Catherine rolled her eyes, "Sara's pregnant."

Nick let out a laugh, but the others kept their faces straight.

"You're kidding, right? I mean, I was gone for two months, not a year." Nick said while Greg shook her head.

"No one's kidding, Nicky. Believe it or not, you're all going to be uncles." Catherine said with a knowing smirk on her face.

"That's nice! But what will Grissom be? The grandfather?" Greg asked, laughing.

"Shut up, Greggo." Nick said, albeit he had been laughing too. "That's wonderful news! Surprising, yes, but wonderful. Where's Sara?"

"She's actually been arriving at work on time, so she should be here soon." Warrick said, glancing at the clock. "Yeah, I know, surprising."

The group engaged their own conversation until Sara entered the break room, spotting Nick immediately as he got up and hugged her.

"I hear that congratulations are in order!" Nick said, smiling at his friend. Sara raised an eyebrow at Greg. "Come on, I would have known sooner or later. You look amazing, Sar. Now tell me, who's the lucky guy that got you to be his baby's mama?"

* * *

**A/N:** What will Sara say now? Will she tell the team the whole truth? Will Sara take the test?

Next chapter should be posted next week. :)

Hope you enjoyed this one! Thank you soooo much for the reviews, I love them. They make me find some time to write during these busy days. I'm sorry I didn't have time to answer them, but you know how holidays are. Hope you had a nice Christmas. See you all in 2011!

_Maddie_


	9. What is Love?

**Chapter Eight – What is Love?**

Sara Sidle was not one to go by wordlessly. She always had something to say.

Well, except when Grissom was concerned – _that _always made her run out of words.

But she really wasn't expecting such an innocent, fearful question at that time. And by Nick, of all people.

She tried to ignore the stares and how the atmosphere seemed to freeze in the room, noticing Catherine's smile and Warrick and Greg's exchanging glances, mixing with Nick's expectant face.

Yeah, how do you tell your friends, who always thought of you as a correct woman – who hasn't been seeing anyone in ages – that you don't know exactly who is your baby's father?

Yeah, kind of complicated.

She was sure that in five seconds Nick would repeat the question, thinking she hadn't listened it.

Five…

_Maybe I should tell them. _

Four…

_Maybe if I laughed graciously and said something funny… no, no good, I still think the baby didn't like that veggie burger and if I say anything that makes me laugh I'll probably empty my stomach._

Three…

_Maybe I should tell them it's Henry._

_Two…_

_No, but Grissom could be the father. I won't tell them it's Grissom._

One.

_Oh God, he's just preparing to say something…_

"Good to see everyone here. We have two dead bodies in an exploded trailer." Grissom's voice filled up the room, and she breathed in relief.

All eyes were suddenly on him, and Sara made a mental note to thank him later.

"When you say 'we', you say everyone?" Greg asked. Grissom smiled.

"We need all hands on this one, and there's no other case. Plus, I thought it would be nice to have the team together."

* * *

Nick had to admit it: he had been pretty surprised upon hearing that Sara was pregnant. At least before he was kidnapped, he knew she wasn't seeing anyone. But it wasn't like they had been talking much; after Ecklie split up the team, they hadn't talked that much.

He knew he had asked a forbidden question when he saw the look on Sara's face – after that, she seemed to make sure she wasn't alone with him, and they both went to the crime scene with the most likely person to _not _share personal information: Grissom.

Sara didn't talk much; she claimed she hadn't been feeling very well before shift, but that everything was fine. Nick noticed how Grissom seemed to keep glancing at Sara, to make sure she was fine, and he really couldn't blame him. He too was keeping an eye on her – knowing Sara, she wouldn't stop working just because of her pregnancy, but he'd try to make sure she wouldn't outdo herself.

They were quick to process the scene, but it wasn't long until Grissom was called back to the lab.

"Catherine's on charge until I come back." He said, picking up his kit, and then looking at Sara. "Sara, you know the drill. Feel anything, step aside. If not for yourself, for the crime scene."

"And when did I fail to do that?" Sara said, without looking up, but with a smile on her face.

"Nick, keep an eye on her." Grissom said, and Nick nodded, finding all that interaction amusing. Sara rolled her eyes, but the supervisor ignored it as he left. Nick grinned, looking at Sara. "Is everyone being like this on you lately?"

"For the past weeks, yeah. It seems that they're more worried with my pregnancy than I am. And I am being careful, believe me." Sara said, sounding a bit annoyed.

"How far along are you?"

"Ten weeks." She said with a smile, not caring to elaborate.

"Nice. You excited?" Nick asked, noticing that she seemed a bit tense with this pregnancy talk. He grinned; he _really _wasn't planning on asking anything about the paternity of the child.

"Yes. Very." She said, and Nick nodded thoughtfully.

"Well, you need anything, just give me a call. Even if you need to eat banana ice cream with those Jalapeño Cheetos." He said and smiled.

It had been a while since he heard her laughing.

* * *

The past weeks weren't easy for Sara; adjusting to pregnancy wasn't a simple thing, and it seemed that she was one of those women who experienced every single pregnancy symptom recorded by any book or person. Restrooms became her second home, whether it was because of the morning sickness or because her bladder did not seem to take a rest.

Oh, and she missed caffeine. A lot. She had always been an insomniac, but right now she _needed _caffeine; it was becoming pretty difficult to keep her eyes open. And she couldn't stop craving for chocolate. Snickers, Kit Kat, M&M's, anything and everything. She had always been a bit of chocoholic, and she was almost sure her baby would be one too.

Also, she spent much more time in the lab now. One scene per night seemed to be Grissom's motto. And if the scene took too much time, someone was constantly asking her if she was alright. The only one who didn't seem to bother doing this was Catherine; she normally smiled sympathetically at Sara when one of the guys.

"And you're not even showing yet. This is a dangerous job, but I think you know your own limits." Catherine said one night, after Grissom brought them sandwiches without them even asking, something Sara had never experienced before. "Been there, done that. But there weren't so many people working with us at the time, so it wasn't that bad."

At least someone seemed to understand what she was feeling.

She also worked up her courage and told Richard about what happened. She had been expecting disappointment and angriness, maybe, but all she heard through the phone was confusion and questions. She answered them all without hesitation, and Richard advised her to have a paternity test done. She also made him promise to not tell Ted.

Ted was constantly in her mind, now. She hadn't seen him in months, since he had been in one of his expeditions in the Caribbean and contacted her only occasionally. Sara smiled at the thought; even Richard got worried by the lack of news regarding his father, who would, from time to time, send them both an email with wildlife pictures and beautiful beaches. He told them he would be back in a month, which made Sara glad; in a month, she would be able to know not only the sex of the baby, but also have an amnio done, if she wanted to.

Grissom's words echoed in her head after he said them. Telling her how he wanted to be with her… She didn't know how long she had been waiting to hear those words. But now… She wasn't sure about what to do with them. Grissom couldn't _possibly_ want to raise another man's child as his own. If she was carrying Henry's child, she wanted her son or her daughter to know exactly who his or her father was. She decided to have a child to give her a reason to live, since she had nothing but work. And now she would have a baby. Why pursue a romantic relationship now?

Things were already going to be hard without having to worry about the beginning of a relationship. Especially if said relationship was with Grissom. _That _would probably make her cry, laugh and act like a teenage girl, and she didn't even want to think about pregnancy hormones added to that equation.

Even if the baby was his… Well, the lab would have to know, but maybe… Maybe they could keep working together, if they told their superiors the ugly truth - that the child had been the result of lots of tequila and beer, which lead to a night full of… Well, maybe they could just skip the details and go directly to the point.

She appreciated Grissom's interest, she really did. But every time he said something – as if he wanted the baby to be his – she felt like crying. Maybe she didn't disappoint Richard and wouldn't disappoint Ted, but she would hate to disappoint Grissom.

And he tried a few things. Asking her out to go somewhere nice, talking about the baby, thanking her for saying the truth… She could read the signs. She had been sending him signs for years and he ignored them, like she had been doing with him lately.

She _really _needed to think about their relationship, and soon.

But right now, she _really _needed a bar of Kit Kat.

* * *

"You know, it's odd that I basically puke my guts out every time I smell vanilla, but I'm as well as anyone can be with a decomp. Pregnancy is a weird-" Sara said as she and Grissom sat in his living room after dinner; she stopped mid-sentence, deep in thought. "You know, I used to love vanilla. From ice creams to shampoo. Now it's really hateful."

"Guess the baby doesn't like vanilla." Grissom said. "Your appointment today went pretty well. According to a few books, you should be able to feel the baby move in a few weeks."

"Oh really?" Sara said, grinning at him, and then picking up one the baby books that lay on the coffee table. "Looks like somebody has been doing his homework. Well, according to a few books, my 'all-day' sickness should be gone in a few weeks, and that will make me very, very happy."

Grissom smiled apologetically and they exchanged a meaningful look. Sara sighed, glancing at the clock; she was exhausted, and she didn't understand why Grissom had wanted her to come over. They both knew the other was tired. It had been a long shift, and they both were scheduled to work tonight, so Sara was _really _thinking about going home and sleeping for the next eight hours. Maybe, if she didn't sleep any more than that, she'd get the time to stop by McDonald's and get that sundae she's been dreaming about for weeks now. But at the present moment, she was feeling surprisingly good, tiredness and all, as she stood up and started walking around the room while they listened to Sting in the background.

"No weird questions today?"

"No. Greg has been dying to ask, but he hasn't said anything yet. I really don't know what to say. Sooner or later, they _will _ask and I will _have_ to answer. I just don't know how." She sighed, pausing as she stopped in front of his bookcase, looking around and turning to Grissom with a grin on her face. "Didn't know you were a fan of Lemony Snicket."

"The anagrams are interesting." Grissom shrugged, standing up and walking towards Sara.

Sara was still looking over the books, making comments here and there, until Grissom spoke again.

"Sara, you do realize we need to decide whether to do an amnio or not."

"Yes, I realize that." She said quietly while holding his copy of _Much Ado About Nothing_. She looked at him with a gentle smile. "I love this book. I've read it at least a dozen times."

"Glad to know that at least one of the presents I've given you for Christmas is being appreciated." He said, smiling back but not forgetting the previous topic. He ignored her skeptical stare and went on. "Sara, we haven't talked about this yet."

She nodded, not looking at him, before returning the book back to its place.

"I… I think I should do the amnio." She said quietly. "You heard what the doctor said. The risks are minimal. And we could do it next month."

He nodded. In reality, he had wanted her to do the amnio ever since she confirmed his suspicions that he could be the father of her baby. It wasn't that he would change his actions towards her – he just had to know. He had to know, just as much as she wanted to. An amniocentesis would tell them lots of useful information regarding the baby, and better safe than sorry.

"Okay. If that's what you want, I'll support you." He said, hesitating before smiling at her.

"I'm afraid that… No, we should know soon." She said, sounding a bit nervous. "You must know soon, so you don't have to waste your time by coming to doctor's appointment and bonding with the baby, if you're not the father."

"I thought I made myself clear that day when I told you I wanted to be with you." Grissom said, stepping closer. "I meant it, Sara. I want to be with you. I don't care if the baby is mine. I don't care if it's Henry's. I'll love this child the same way, because it'll be a part of you. I want to date you. I want to spend my free evenings and my days with you. I want… Sara, honey, look at me."

She reluctantly looked at him, as she felt his hand on her chin. He looked absolutely determined.

"If you don't want to be with me, it's fine. I'll understand." He said, moving his hand to caress her cheek. "But I'm serious about this. I can go to Ecklie tomorrow and tell everything. You won't have to tell people who your baby's father is; they'll think it's me. And I honestly wouldn't mind, even if it's not my child."

"No one wants to raise another man's child, Gil." Sara said stubbornly.

"It's your child, and it's going to need a father. We can work it out." He said, taking one more step towards her. "I'll say it as many times as you want to hear it. I want to be with you. I've always wanted that, ever since that day in San Francisco."

She closed her eyes, leaning into his touch, and he could see she was thinking about what to do. They were now merely an inch from each other, their noses almost touching. When she opened her eyes again, he thought he would be lost in their intensity.

"I've been waiting for years to hear you say that." She said quietly, widening their distance and walking around the room. "But it's not simple. It never was. We… Our jobs. And I wonder… God, Gil, sometimes I wonder why… We don't really know that much about each other. Have you ever thought about that?"

"As a matter of fact, yes, I've thought about that." He answered her, not really understanding where she was going with this.

"That's why I wonder… That's why I don't know why I have these… feelings about you." She said as she stopped in her tracks and looked at him a bit helplessly. "You don't know if you're the father of this child. And I don't- _we _don't know that much about each other. This is not about giving you a chance or going on a date with you. This about a relationship, a real relationship."

He nodded, briefly wondering what could be said in this situation.

"I understand. But I feel like… It's never too late to start over, Sara. We have a chance. This baby is giving us a chance." He said, approaching her slowly. She seemed helpless, impatient and surprisingly lovely. "You say you don't know a lot about me. I'll tell what you want to know. I'm a baseball fan. I spent my childhood collecting insects, coins and wanting to be a cowboy." He saw a shadow of a smile behind her serious face. "I was fourteen the first time I got into a rollercoaster. I talk to my mother at least once a week. My father died when I was nine. I have a godson, Benjamin. He's eight years old and loves soccer." He said, now standing in front of her. "Ask me anything. I'll answer your questions."

She kept her eyes focused on the floor for a few moments and Grissom decided not to step any closer nor do anything; she was probably trying to understand all that information.

"I was fifteen the _last_ time I got into a rollercoaster. I wanted to be an astronaut when I was kid. I paint my toenails whenever I have the chance. I haven't talked to my mother in two months and I read _Sense and Sensibility_ every Christmas." Sara said, letting out a nervous chuckle. He took a step closer and stroked her left cheek. "This is serious, Gil. I want you to be sure about what you're doing."

"I _am _sure, Sara." He said as his free hand gripped her waist and pulled her to him. She closed her eyes, leaning into his touch. "Trust me. I'm not walking away this time."

His lips were on hers before she had time to say anything else. She gladly savored his gentle kiss before he pulled away with a glint of mischief in his eyes.

"Astronaut?" He grinned.

"Shut up, cowboy." Sara said, before pulling him into a passionate kiss.

* * *

Catherine was not stupid. She wasn't a great criminalist by chance. She liked her job; sometimes it was a bit of a life consuming thing, but she was happy with it when her mother wasn't complaining and when Lindsey wasn't being a rebel.

She liked puzzles too. Not the way Grissom did, but she liked them.

So when Grissom arrived at the lab _on time_, she knew something was up. He was in an incredibly good mood, too. She thought she had heard him whistling some Sting song, which was _definitely_ weird. Grissom didn't whistle.

"Slow night, eh?" She heard Brass' voice saying from the break room door. She had been musing next to the counter, coffee in hand, having wrapped up her last case. She needed to take a look on her paperwork, too, but she decided that a few minutes wouldn't kill anyone. Greg was at DNA again, and Nick and Warrick were out at a scene. Grissom was probably doing some weird research in his office and Sara was going over some evidence in the layout room.

"A bit, yeah. Not that I'm complaining." She said, offering him some coffee. He declined. "What are you doing around here?"

"Well, it's a slow night, I was around and decided to stop and say 'hi'." Brass said, sitting on one of the chairs. "I saw Sara back there. Thought she would be showing by now, she hasn't been on field much."

"Yeah, but it's still a bit early and she's pretty thin, so…" Catherine trailed off, still thinking about Grissom's uncharacteristic behavior. "She hasn't told you who the father is, has she?"

"No, she didn't." Brass answered her with a strange look on his face. "She was pretty focused on what she was doing. She's glowing, though. Singing and everything."

_That _caught Catherine's interest.

"Singing, huh? Which music?" Catherine said. Brass shrugged. "You heard any good gossip lately? About Sara's pregnancy?"

"Only the usual. Why? You think maybe there is something that's true?" Brass grinned.

Catherine smiled.

"There's no smoke without fire, Jim."

* * *

**A/N:** Sorry it took me a while to post this chapter. I had lots of ideas this past weeks, but most of them are only to be used in a few chapters. Now Griss and Sara are together, Brass looks like he knows something, Catherine's suspicious… And who the hell is the baby's father? Is Sara's baby a boy or a girl? Don't worry, we'll find out soon.

Thanks a lot for those who are keeping track of the story and for those who reviewed last chapter. :)

Have a nice weekend,

_Maddie_


	10. Heaven

**Chapter Nine – Heaven**

The clock ticked quietly on the nightstand as Grissom woke up that evening. He sleepily glanced at the clock, rubbed the sleep off of his eyes and looked at the sleeping creature next to him. Sara was a vision of heaven with her beautiful hair sprawled against one of his pillow, his bed sheets covering her naked body. How many times had he dreamt about seeing her like this?

They still had a lot to talk about, but he knew Sara cared for him as much as he cared for her. They needed to get to know each other; they needed to be something else outside work. And this – seeing her in his bed, her cheeks still slightly blushed from lovemaking, sleeping deeply – just made everything even clearer to him.

She was a smart, beautiful and intelligent woman – he always knew that. As time went by he found out she could be very emotional, but she was a fighter. She never gave up, and she never judged him.

He moved, careful to not wake her up, and made his way towards the bathroom. He took a shower, expecting her to be awake by the time he finished it, but found her still asleep in his bed when he came back to the bedroom, already dressed for work. He sat carefully on the bed, by her side, and lowered his head.

He moved so his face was only inches from hers, and although he wanted to let her sleep, he knew that wouldn't be possible. They had little over than two hours before shift, and he knew how Sara hated to be late. He carefully caressed her cheek, making her stir a little. He watched as a small smile played on her lips and knew that she was already waking up. He moved a little closer and gently kissed her lips, making her open her eyes for him.

"Hmm, I could get used to this, you know." She said, mirroring his smile. "What time is it?"

"Two hours before shift. I'll go make us some breakfast." He said, stroking her hair. "You can go take a shower if you want to."

"Is this your way of telling me that I'm stinky?" She teased and he laughed.

"You're not stinky."

She closed her eyes with a sleepy sigh. "It's not fair. The first time we wake up together and you're all showered and smelling good while I'm all sweaty and with some morning breath."

He kissed her one more time. "Sweetheart, you do not have morning breath. And you smell just fine."

She gave him a pointed look and caressed his beard lovingly.

"I'll take a shower then." She shrugged and sat down on the bed, still holding the sheets around her body.

"Okay. I can try to find some clothes that would fit you until…"

"I have some clothes in the car. You know, for an emergency." Sara said with a small smile. "My boss always says it's important. You never know what you might find in a crime scene."

"He must be a smart man." He said, giving her a gentle peck on her lips before standing up. "I'll go get your clothes. Make yourself at home."

* * *

Grissom had just crossed the street with Sara's clothes when another familiar car parked in front of his townhouse. _Damn,_ he thought. Brass always called before stopping by. Of course he decided to make it a surprise today.

He sighed, his mind racing about what to do. He vaguely thought about racing towards the house and telling Sara to hide, but Brass was already getting off of his car. He needed to find a way to send Brass away without him noticing Sara's car (which was, thankfully, parked on the other side of the street, God knows why) or noticing that Sara was in his house, taking a shower. As much as he wouldn't mind to tell his friend what was going on, he had yet to talk to Sara about what to do with the new status of their relationship – whatever _that_ was.

"Nice bag." Brass said a moment later, looking at the bag Grissom carried.

"My mother gave it to me." He shrugged, not moving to enter the house. "What brings you here, Jim?"

"I was in the neighborhood and decided to come by. Why? Are you surprised?" Jim said, walking past Grissom and into his living room. "Thought you'd be watching the Cubs' game today. The Reds were beating them up yesterday."

"Yeah, they've had better seasons." Grissom agreed, sighing ever so slightly as he walked into his house once more and settled Sara's bag on the counter, right next to her purse. He could only hope Brass hadn't seen it at first. "Jim, I don't mean to sound rude, but what are you doing here?"

"I already told you. I was in the neighborhood and decided to come." Brass said with a smile in his lips. He frowned. "Well, I normally wouldn't come, but Sara's car is parked on the other side of the street. You seen that?"

Grissom sighed; Brass was too perceptive for his own good.

"You might want to take those clothes to her. While I don't think she would mind if you saw her undressed, I'm sure you don't want me in that scenario." The detective grinned.

He came back after no more than a minute to find Brass leaning against the kitchen counter with a serious expression on his face.

"Just so you know, Gil, I'm not telling anyone. But you guys should be a bit more… Well, her car is there for everyone to see." He said, obviously trying to sound nonchalant, but Grissom knew better. "You better know what you're doing. She's pregnant. You had years to do something and decided to act now?"

"It's not that simple, Jim."

"Yeah, yeah, I know. With you two, it's always not simple." Brass sighed. "Don't hurt her, Gil. She's a good kid. She deserves better than that."

"I know that, Jim. I think I've hurt her more than enough." Grissom said.

"You plan on telling Ecklie and the sheriff?"

"We haven't discussed that yet. I'm not sure if Sara wants that."

"Well, you better tell them. It might be easier. Maybe you'll even get to keep working together." The detective said. "Well, either way I'm sure you'll know the right thing to do. I know my way out. Tell Sara I said hi."

* * *

"Hey." Sara said a few minutes later as he was putting the plates on the breakfast bar. He turned around slightly and took in the sight of her; her hair was still wet, with stubborn curls beginning to appear out of nowhere and he smiled as he remembered a few years back, when she used her hair curly all the time. She looked absolutely stunning as she walked towards him with uncertain steps. "Thanks for getting my clothes."

"No problem. I hope you like pancakes." Grissom said, smiling apologetically. "Sorry, I have no decaf… But I do have orange juice."

She gave him a big smile. "I love orange juice."

They ate in comfortable silence, occasionally glancing at each other from time to time.

"Brass stopped by while you were in the shower." Grissom said after a few minutes. "He noticed your car."

Sara's eyes widened. "Brass? But… What did he say?"

"He said he's not telling anyone until _we_ tell someone." Grissom said. "Sara, I want to know what you think about this. I already told you this morning. I can go to Ecklie and Burdick first thing this evening if you want to."

"No. Let's… Do we have to tell them? So soon?" She asked, looking at him pleadingly. "I mean… This is so new and we don't know about the baby. Grapevine just stopped talking about me, now that everyone knows Warrick is married."

"Okay. If that's what you want… We'll have to tell them sooner or later." Grissom said, taking her hand. "We'll just have to be careful for a few weeks."

"We can do this. Right?" She smiled, and he had a feeling she wasn't talking about telling the sheriff and Ecklie anymore.

"Absolutely."

* * *

"When was the last time we shared a meal?" Catherine's voice echoed in his office as Grissom looked up from his book to see his longtime friend looking at him with determined eyes.

"Um… Last week?" Grissom asked, a bit uncertain. It always meant trouble when Catherine stopped by his office for no apparent reason.

"I meant without the guys. It's been months." She said, walking over his desk but not bothering to sit down. "Come over after shift. I'm sure Lindsey will love to see you."

It didn't matter that he had already made plans with Sara or that he was a bit concerned with Catherine's sudden invitation, because she hadn't given him enough time to say anything; she was gone as fast as she had arrived.

* * *

Sara had been looking forward to spending time with Grissom after shift – she had, albeit clumsily and a bit embarrassingly, invited him to her place and he had accepted her offer in the bliss of a second. So you couldn't say she had been very happy when she read the text message he sent her in the middle of the shift, telling her he'd not be able to go to her apartment after shift. She even rejected Greg's invitation to breakfast – twice – not feeling in the mood to talk at all.

_Maybe we're going too fast. Maybe I pushed too much._

Her mind had been going on that direction as she got into the locker room, denying herself to let the tears fall. She wasn't exactly a cold person – she cried every now and then, mostly because she had a reason to shed tears – but this was getting annoying. Just as she opened her locker, steps came closer and she glanced at the door to see Greg.

"Hey." He said, stepping into the room and opening his locker. "Leaving on time, huh? Now that's something you've been doing a lot lately."

"Yeah, shift's over and I can't do anymore overtime, so…" She shrugged, putting her jacket on.

"You don't look very happy, Sara. Something happened?" He asked concernedly and she smiled at her friend.

"No, not at all. Just tired, I guess." She lied, closing her locker.

"I suppose you don't want to have breakfast, then?" Greg asked her, sounding hopeful.

"Hmm… No, not breakfast. You know where I can find a broccoli pizza at seven am?" She teased and Greg's eyes lit up.

"This is Vegas, baby. You can find anything at any time of the day." He smiled. "Let me find that broccoli pizza for ya and I'll go to your place in, let's say, half an hour?"

"You bet that, Greggo. See you later."

* * *

Greg had been true to his word. Half an hour later, he stood in front of Sara's door with two pizzas with him. One of them was a broccoli one.

They talked and laughed and Sara realized that she missed hanging out with Greg as often as before. Ever since she had gotten pregnant she grew distant from people in general. It would be difficult as hell to tell someone what was really going on in her life right now.

"Hey, you're already choosing names and didn't tell me?" Greg asked, sounding disappointed. He was now sitting comfortably in Sara's couch drinking a soda and looking over the book that had been on the coffee table.

"I'm not choosing names yet. I just bought the book to see some of them." Sara said as she came from the kitchen, sitting beside her friend. "Why? Do you have any suggestions?"

Greg grinned. "Well, Nana Olaf once said I was the best baby namer she had ever seen. You had anything in mind?"

"Absolutely nothing. I mean, it's much more difficult than I thought it would be. I just don't want it to be very popular, I guess." Sara said.

"Well, I for one think you should name the baby Gregory if it's a boy." He grinned and Sara rolled her eyes. "Hey, I'm serious! It's a beautiful name. The best for your son. If you don't like it, we can always find a nice Norwegian name for him. What about Silje for a girl? Or maybe Inga?"

Sara laughed. "I'm not naming my daughter Inga, Greg. No offense."

"None taken. I've always preferred Silje." Greg said enthusiastically. "You really have no idea? Lots of women have their babies' names chosen even before they get pregnant."

"Yeah, I'm not one of those. I still have plenty of time left, anyway."

"Yeah, just choose it soon. I don't want to call the baby 'Baby' forever." Greg said, rolling his eyes and reading a few lines from the book. "What does Daddy say about this?"

The question surprised Sara, but she tried to be cool about it – this was Greg, they weren't at the lab and there wasn't anyone snooping around.

"We haven't discussed names yet."

_I can't do this. I'm already thinking of Grissom as the father – what if he isn't? I really have to stop doing this. He probably thinks we're going too fast. He did look very well yesterday, but maybe he has regretted everything by now._

"Ah. So there _is _a Daddy." Greg teased. "I know you won't be telling me much but… Is he happy? About the baby? I mean, he _is _going to help you, right? Personally… Financially… Whatever."

"Yes, Greg. You have nothing to worry about. And when the time is right, you'll know everything." Sara said patiently. "We are just fine."

"Good. You hear that, baby Silje? Mommy has everything under control here. And if she doesn't, Uncle Greg is always gonna be there to help ya."

Sara smiled as Greg said those words, realizing she had never talked to her child before; it sounded a bit silly when she first thought about it, when she found out she was pregnant. But now… Maybe it wasn't such a bad idea after all.

"I don't think I'll name the baby Silje either," Sara chuckled, "but I'm sure he or she appreciates the concern."

"Of course he or she does! I'm the one your baby will come after you deny to buy the newest _Grand Theft Auto_."

"Of course I won't buy that! It's repulsive, no matter what you say."

"What are you buying? The Sims?" Greg laughed. "GTA is awesome! Just ask Mandy and Nick. Sometimes we do a kind of championship to see who the best is."

"Well, my baby won't be into that stuff. Not with me as a mother and Grissom as…"

Her eyes widened as soon as the words left her mouth, and Greg stared at her with a blank expression on his face. She couldn't believe _that _escaped – she couldn't have said what she think she said. No. no, she wouldn't be that stupid.

_Apparently, I am._

"Did you just say what I think you said?" Greg asked her, already recomposed.

_Damn. What have I done?_

* * *

Grissom stood worriedly in front of Sara's doorstep, calling her for what felt like the hundredth time that afternoon. He managed to survive through Catherine's inquisitive babbling thanks to Lindsey's constant presence and thought it might be a good idea to stop by Sara's apartment after he was finally free.

He tried calling her landline as soon as he left Catherine's place, but he could only get her answering machine, and she wasn't answering her cell. He decided to come over anyway; it _was _possible for Sara to be sleeping. Or maybe she simply didn't want to talk to him, but he refused to think that was the case. He was getting worried, but as soon as he parked his car he saw hers a few feet away.

He _really _didn't want to use her key – she hadn't exactly let him do that, but she hadn't actually asked for the key anyway. After knocking a few times, he decided to call her one last time and come in.

"_Hello, you've reached Sara Sidle. I'll…"_

He ended the call before hearing the rest and grabbed her key and opened her door.

Everything seemed to be in its place as he quietly closed the door behind him. He dropped his keys on her counter and started for her bedroom. He took notice of the baby books resting beside her computer and smiled. He got into the bedroom and found her lying on her bed, a book rested on her chest and, as he got closer to her, the reminiscence of tears on her face.

His face softened at the sight of her; perhaps she got worried when he said he wouldn't be able to come over earlier. Maybe he should have explained everything to her, but when? It wasn't as if they had a lot of alone time in the lab.

He quietly took his shoes off and picked the book from her hand, trying not to wake her. She sighed in her sleep and he slowly sat on the mattress, making the slightest bit of noise and he almost cursed when he saw Sara's eyes shot open.

She was startled when she saw him there but blinked again and smiled gently at him.

"Grissom. What… What are you doing here?" She asked, sitting up and rubbing her eyes.

"I said I couldn't be here right after shift, but I didn't say I wouldn't be here today." He explained and her smile grew bigger. "I'm sorry about that. Catherine basically ordered me to go have breakfast with her and Lindsey. She can be worse than Greg is with you when it comes to insist or demand."

He watched as her eyes clouded and she looked away from him.

"What's wrong, Sara?" He asked her, caressing her right arm, sitting by her side now. "If this is about Catherine, I'm…"

"It's not about Catherine." She said, sniffing. "Greg came over after shift. I was a bit upset and he cheered me up but then I screwed everything up and told him everything about the baby and Henry and you, and I'm so sorry I did it, I didn't mean it…"

She said everything so fast and then launched herself onto his arms that he had little time to understand everything as she sobbed on his shirt. He smiled at her reaction, rubbing lazy circles on her back as he embraced her.

"Honey, it's nothing." He said as she continually said a few incomprehensible words against his shoulder. "Sara, it's okay. Greg is your friend. I'm sure he supported you."

He felt her nod against him and pulled away from her, looking into her puffy brown eyes.

"See? No need to be upset. I'm not worried about this. Was Greg angry at you or anything like that?" He asked gently, caressing her cheeks.

She sniffed. "No. He just asked to be the baby's godfather." She let out a small chuckle and rubbed her eyes. "What's wrong with me? I knew you wouldn't mind and I know Greg won't tell a soul."

"There's nothing wrong with you, my dear. You're just pregnant." He said gently, pulling her to him once more and kissing her temple. "And you're one adorable pregnant lady, if you want my opinion."

"Stop kissing my ass, Gil." She chuckled, pulling away just enough to look at him. "I was looking over a few names before I fell asleep. Do you have a favorite?"

"Name? Uh… No, I don't think so." He said after a moment. "Do you?"

"Not really. I only thought about going with Henry as a middle name if it's a boy, but I want the baby to have his or her own name." Sara explained, caressing his beard. "Would you be okay with that?"

"Absolutely, my dear. Whatever you want." He said, kissing the tip of her nose and making her smile. "Please tell me Greg didn't suggest any name."

"Oh, that he did." She said, giggling. "Gregory, of course, Silje, Inga, Asta, and about ten other Norwegian names."

"Why am I not surprised?" Grissom sighed. He then looked at her worriedly. "We're not naming the baby after Greg or any Norwegian name, are we? Because it would be incredibly difficult to…"

She smiled at him before kissing him soundly on the lips and he instantly forgot what he was going to say.

* * *

They had managed to keep everything a secret for the next few weeks – except from Greg and Brass, of course –, but Sara had been right about one thing: a new relationship could cause some trouble.

They really were doing well. They were learning things about each other, which meant good things _and _bad things. For example, Grissom snored. Like a pig.

God, she hated that. She needed sleep all the time, but she couldn't do it with Grissom by her side. Sometimes she managed to sleep before he did, and that was always a good thing – except when she had to get up to pee in the middle of the day. She rarely went back to sleep after that happened. They even got into a rather nasty discussion after she had needed to sleep so badly that she got up and went back to her apartment without telling him.

At least after that he agreed to use the long forgotten nasal strips and she had agreed on waking him up if he was snoring too much.

Not long after that, she got incredibly annoyed by the fact that he seemed always more into the new baseball game than trying to help her find good baby names. Whenever she asked his opinion, he would say that whatever she wanted was fine by him, he trusted her.

She never really told him that it annoyed her, but figured she would have enough time to find names.

His home was always a bit messy – he never cleaned the sink up after shaving and he always let his shoes anywhere. His only hope was Mrs. Walsh, an old friend of Grissom's mother, who came twice a week to make sure everything is in its right place.

"Gil always says I don't have to come," The woman said when she first met Sara, "but I'm glad I do. I don't work and I live two blocks away. At least I can always tell his mother he's doing okay. And I'm afraid I always hope to find a lady friend around. Betty will love to hear about you."

The thought of it sounded a bit terrifying to Sara, but Vera Walsh was a great person and Sara loved to talk to her. Grissom never talked much about his mother to her, and she didn't push him; it wasn't as though she talked a lot about her own mother either.

The weeks passed by quickly and soon it was time for Sara's new doctor's appointment.

"You've lost three pounds since your last appointment, Sara. How's morning sickness?" Dr Bennett said, looking at Sara's charge as she got ready for the ultrasound.

"It's been better. I've been feeling very good this last week." Sara said.

"Your blood work is normal. The weight lost was probably due to the morning sickness. And don't worry if you're not showing yet, it's completely normal at this stage." Dr Bennett said, smiling at Sara and Grissom. "Now, let's see if this little one will be kind enough to let us know if we have a boy or a girl in there."

Sara felt the cool gel on her skin soon enough, and the familiar excitement filled her as she looked at Grissom once more before turning her eyes to the screen. Dr Bennett moved the transducer across Sara's belly as she looked attentively at the screen.

"The baby's size is normal. Heartbeat's stronger than ever." She said with a little smile. "Ah. Looks like someone's pretty social today. Well, at this stage I can't be a hundred percent sure, I could be mistaken… But I think you'll be having a girl."

"A girl." Grissom said, giving Sara a quick peck on the lips. He then looked at the doctor again. "What's the percentage for that?"

The doctor chuckled. "Well, I've never been wrong before, but we'll know for sure after the amnio."

"Sounds good to me." Sara said, already feeling the tears moistening her eyes.

"We're having a baby girl." Grissom grinned, kissing the back of Sara's hand.

The doctor smiled. "This ultrasound may take longer, Sara. We need to know the baby's measures before going for the amnio. Everything alright?"

Sara sighed deeply and exchanged a look with Grissom before nodding.

* * *

"All done now. Feel anything abnormal, Sara?" Dr Bennett said, as the couple sat up on the chairs in front of her desk almost an hour late. She looked at Sara, who shook her head. "That's good. Now, Sara, I know we've talked about this before, but I want to make sure Gil hears it too. I trust you to take good care of her these days."

"I'll do my best." Grissom said.

"Okay. I want you to go home and rest for at least two hours. No lifting weight for the next 24 hours." Dr Bennett said. "No strenuous exercise, no air travel and no intercourse for the next 72 hours. There could be some cramping, spotting and maybe a light bleeding. Sara, anything different, don't be afraid to call us or come here. Any light fever or pain, call us."

"We will." Grissom assured her.

"I'm sure everything will be perfect, but please be careful." She shook hands with both criminalists as they got up. "We should have the results in ten days or so. We'll call you when it's ready."

Grissom linked his hand with Sara's as they left the clinic and headed for his car.

"How are you feeling?" He asked, opening the passenger door for her.

"Perfectly fine." She said after waiting for him to climb onto the driver seat.

He caressed her cheek. "Now you can start looking for girl names."

"Yes. Yes, I can." She smiled, leaning into and kissing his lips. She sighed. "And now we wait."

"And now we wait." He agreed.

* * *

A/N: Sorry about the delay, guys. I had a bit of trouble with the internet, but now everything's fine. I was going to update yesterday, but there are lots of stuff to do. I'll try to update in the weekend, though.

Now we know the baby is a girl… Or is it really? Maybe the doctor is wrong… :) Or maybe I won't be that mean to you and leave things as they are now.

We'll know soon who the baby's father is! I'm happy to say that I've already written that part, and I would have put it in here, but this chapter is so long that I decided to wait.

Thanks for those who reviewed! I'm glad to see that people seem to be enjoying the story.

Have a nice week!

Peace,

_Maddie_


	11. What Becomes of Us

**Chapter Ten – What Becomes of Us**

"We need to narrow down this list." Sara said with a slight pout on her mouth as she lay down Grissom's sofa one lazy afternoon. She had her feet resting on his lap while he watched the news. "How is it possible for a person to like so many names? There's at least thirty in here. Oh. I don't think I like Alison or Zoe that much. Gil, what do you think?"

Grissom glanced at her before shrugging.

"Good. Alison and Zoe are out." She scratched out both names. "Why did I scratch Alice? It's a nice name."

"You said there was an Alice in your literature class." Grissom said, and Sara scrunched up her nose in disgust.

"Oh, that's true. She was a bitch." She looked over her list once more. "I don't know why Roxanne is on the list. It reminds me of that stripper who killed her boss a few years ago. And Lorraine reminds me of that girl who was killed by her boss. That is just weird. Do you mind if I scratch these names?"

"Not at all, my dear."

"I think it should be a simple name. You know, something we can't go wrong with. Not very popular, though. I don't want my daughter to be one of the five girls in her class with the same name." Sara said thoughtfully. "This is too difficult. Is there any name from your family we could use?"

Sara waited for Grissom to say something, but he obviously hadn't been listening to her. She sighed, unsure of what her next action should be. She didn't want to push him, but this was getting ridiculous. He was the one who said he wanted to be a part of this, no matter what happened. And yet, he couldn't help her with the names.

Maybe she shouldn't be upset about this. It was still pretty early – for both the pregnancy and their relationship. Oh, well, she wasn't asking him to move in together. She was asking for his opinion, for God's sake! It wasn't a big deal.

"Gil?" She tried once more, and he looked at her questioningly. "Is there any name from your family we could use?"

He stared at her with a confused expression. "Why would you use a name from my family?"

She looked at him in disbelief; maybe she shouldn't ask for his opinion on this matter. She probably should wait for the test's result before doing anything.

"You're right." She said, cursing herself mentally as she heard her own voice trembling. She folded the list and sat upright on the couch. "Why would I use a name from your family? Pretty useless if the baby turns out to be Henry's, after all."

She stood up after putting her shoes on. Grissom remained seated.

"Sara, that's not what…"

She turned at him sharply. "Don't, Grissom. Just… don't." She felt tears coming and took a deep breath. "I understand. I really do. Don't worry about it. I'll see you at work."

"Sara, please, you're not…"

"I understand, Grissom." She said, grabbing her purse and heading towards the door. "I'll just… I need some time. I'll see you tonight."

And with that she left.

* * *

He didn't know what to do. It had been more than a week since Sara had the amnio, but nothing changed. He knew he wouldn't change his behavior even if the baby wasn't his.

Truth was, they hadn't had much time to discuss everything; work was a consuming thing, especially with the shooting and Brass' guilt. Still, he couldn't see where things went wrong. After shift, he and Sara decided to go to his place. They had dinner, went to bed… Everything seemed fine. No, spectacular.

Her pregnancy was going great, morning sickness had stopped (but she still couldn't handle the smell of vanilla or peach, for some reason), she stopped losing weight and they both discovered a slight bump a few days ago, invisible to others. She had been getting a bit worried over this – she was seventeen weeks into the pregnancy and no baby bump. Even if any other people who saw her couldn't see that she's pregnant, the fact that the baby was now appearing to be even more real than before made them calmer about everything.

They went to the movies and the museum, rarely argued; Sara started talking to the baby after reading that by now she could really hear what they said, and he truly couldn't stop wondering how she could be getting more and more beautiful every day. They talked, laughed and spent most of their free time together. He learnt a lot about her, and finally started seeing them as a couple – not just friends who became lovers or something like that – but a _real_couple.

Sure, everything wasn't simple all the time, and for someone like him, who was very used to being alone, things were even more difficult. Some things just annoyed him; he truly hadn't met someone who could keep everything in order or neat like Sara. He always knew she was a perfectionist, but he never thought about the extension of this. She was constantly humming around his house or her apartment, checking if everything was in its place and clean.

And she _had_to either have the stereo or the television on while doing this, and he simply couldn't get _why_.

Not that it bothered him – normally he didn't care. Sara had a nice taste of music most of the time, but she could be… unconventional from time to time. He could handle Bon Jovi just fine, and he actually liked Queen – but ABBA was just _not_for him. It always depended on her mood, but he really hated it when _Dancing Queen_started playing just as he did his crossword puzzles. To be even worse, Brass once called him as Sara had been singing along _Like a Virgin_, and while he did like to hear Sara's voice, he wasn't known to be an avid Madonna fan.

Sleep was another issue for them; Sara had always been an insomniac, he knew, but the Sara he had been spending time with needed sleep as badly as any other normal person needed. She was a heavy sleeper, actually – once she slept, few noises could wake her up. But, as she stated multiple times, it was a little difficult to be able to sleep with "a hybrid of a pig and Donald Duck on her side", using her own words.

But despite that, they were doing really fine. She understood his bugs and even fed his tarantula occasionally; they shared meals and stories and personal information and their sex life was… amazing. His expectations were good when they started their relationship, even if he had a few doubts, but Sara proved to be a better partner than he thought.

Until they woke up and Sara started doing a list with the names she liked.

Maybe he should have given his opinion. But it was hard to do so; what would happen if the baby wasn't his? Would she reconsider everything? It was too soon anyway. Even the doctor couldn't be sure if the baby was a girl.

Truth was, he was afraid of helping her with this. He was afraid of creating a bond with her baby and then to have her decline everything he wanted to give.

He needed to fix this, and quickly.

And he knew exactly what to do.

* * *

Nearly an hour later, he knocked on Sara's door. He wasn't sure she would answer the door; he knew Sara's temper and he had been reading a lot about pregnancy hormones. Sara hadn't been experiencing any mood swings so far. Sure, she had been crying a lot (she even cried over a soap opera she had never seen before a few days ago, even though she didn't admit it), but that was becoming normal.

Soon enough, he heard steps coming close and someone opening the door. By the look on Sara's face, he was glad he had chosen not to use his key. It was pretty obvious she was still upset, and he couldn't blame her.

She had changed her clothes, now wearing an oversized t-shirt and yoga pants; her eyes were red, obviously from crying, and he felt a twinge in his chest, knowing that this was his fault.

"Hi. May I come in?" He said tentatively while Sara narrowed her eyes for a moment, studying him, and then stepping aside and letting him in.

Upon entering her apartment, he saw a box of tissues on top of the coffee table, along with a half-eaten Kit Kat bar and lots of paper, with the television on, but mute.

"I wanted to apologize." He started, seeing that Sara's eyes were focused on him. "I know I haven't been very… attentive lately. But I never meant what you thought I meant. Honey, I didn't say that because I don't want you to name the baby after someone in my family. I said that because _I_want_our_daughter to have her own name."

She looked away, and he sighed. "I really should have stated my opinions about the names, but I guess I am afraid that, depending on the results, you'll shut me out." At that she opened her mouth, but he shook his head and she didn't say anything. "I know it's silly, and I'm sorry I did it. I… I thought about giving you flowers or chocolate or something you might like, but it turned out I didn't buy anything for you."

He searched through his jacket's pocket before finally finding what he was looking for: a small, flat, velvet jewelry box. Sara looked at it in shock before finally taking it from his extended hand and opening it. She gasped in surprise, tears instantly filling her eyes as she looked at him.

Inside the box lay the smallest gold bracelet she had ever seen; there wasn't any charms on it, only a small rectangular plate in the middle of it.

"I know we said we should wait until the results to know if we're having a girl for certain before buying anything, but I saw it a few days ago and bought it. I was going to wait until we had a name chosen and then have it engraved." He explained as Sara examined the cord and finally giving him a watery smile. "I'm sorry, Sara. Forgive me. I'm still learning how to do this."

She sniffed, nodding slightly. "I know, so am I. I overreacted. I read too much into you – and I forgive you. You know I'm a sucker for your speeches." She said, looking at the bracelet once more before finally putting it back on the box and closing. "And this… this is the best present you could ever give me. Even if it wasn't for me."

He took a tentative step towards her and embraced her, easily being hugged back. He kissed her temple and he felt her sigh. "Just so you know, I'm not a fan of Natalie or Olivia. I don't know why, but I think we can rule them out."

She let out a small laugh and turned to look at him with watery eyes. "I'll keep that in mind. I think… there's something we should do first. And I don't mean anything dirty."

He chuckled and kissed her eyes lovingly. "What is it, dear?"

She moved her hand to caress his beard and let out a quick, shaky breath. "The amnio results are here."

His eyes widened at her answer, clearly not expecting it. He felt her eyes growing nervous at him. "Have you…?"

"No, I didn't open it." She said quickly. "I was going to wait until we… I don't know. I just looked at the envelope and started crying."

He let out a nervous laugh. "Okay. Do you want to see it now?"

"Yes. Please." She said, taking his hand and guiding him towards the living room.

He sat beside her, trying to stay calm as she quickly found the envelope and held it with her shaky hands. They exchanged a quick look and Sara opened it, taking some papers out but not looking at them. Her free hand searched his own as he gladly took hers. She looked at him questioningly as they both unfolded the papers and looked at the first results.

"It's a girl, after all." He breathed out, checking the first results. Sara nodded.

They both read the other results; he could only the negatives – negative for Tay-Sachs, negative for Cystic Fibrosis… He was relieved to learn that they were going to have a healthy baby. It wasn't until Sara changed the papers and he heard a sharp intake of air coming from her that he looked down on the paper.

He quickly read the results and searched for Sara's face; her eyes were fixed on the letters in front of her, but when she took a chance to turn at him he could easily see the tears coming and he knew she was trying to compose herself. Grabbing the papers on his hands, he laid them down on the coffee table and hugged her. As soon as her arms were around him, a small sob escaped her lips and soon he felt tears on her shirt as she rested her head on his shoulder, staring at the opposite direction.

He didn't know if she felt relieved, happy or sad over the results, but he was sure the confusion of her own emotions were making her act this way.

He too felt drained, but kept his emotions at bay as he tried to comfort Sara, gently caressing her hair and back. Sara, his co-worker, his friend, his student, his lover, his girlfriend.

Sara, the mother of his child.

* * *

"What are we going to do?" Sara asked him, sounding a bit helpless. He handed her a glass of water and sat beside her once more.

"We're going to talk to McKeen today. Burdick is out of town, and Ecklie…" He shrugged, caressing Sara's arm as she drank the water. "McKeen owes me a few favors. If we talk to him, he may be able to keep us working together."

She nodded, not looking at him. She ran her fingers through her hair and closed her eyes for a moment. "I have to tell Richard. And Ted will be over next week. And the team…"

"Sara, everything's gonna be fine." He assured her with a gentle smile. "We can tell everyone. I can tell my mother – and you'll be able to tell Ted the truth."

She sniffed, nodding. "Yeah, that's true. Don't worry about me. Stupid pregnancy hormones." She chuckled and smiled at him; it was a small smile, but real nonetheless. "I don't know what I'm feeling. I don't know if I'm happy or relieved or… It doesn't matter." She rested her head on his shoulder and started playing with his jacket. "I'm happy. We're going to have a healthy baby and that's the best news we could ever receive."

"Yes." He agreed, grabbing her hand and kissing the back of it. "We're having a daughter."

* * *

**A/N:** Suspense is over! I know this chapter is way shorter than the last one, but I can assure you next one will be longer. I had this chapter ready last week, but I thought I'd add a few things, but it has been impossible to do so. Procrastination, thy name is Madeleine.

But now they have other things to worry about – Ecklie, sheriff, work, and names. Not necessarily in that order. I have lots of bits and pieces ready for the next chapter, but I'll probably update sometime next. :)

Anyway, on with the story. We'll have visitors next chapter! And I really hope you liked this chapter. I'll admit I almost changed the paternity at the end – I'm a GSR sucker, but I really like Henry. But hey, this _is_GSR, and a geek baby is coming soon.

Please tell me what you're thinking so far. I love hearing from you!

Have a nice week,

_Maddie_


	12. Step by Step

**A/N: **First of all, sorry for the delay, guys! This chapter didn't want to be written, I'm telling you. Every time I would start to write, something would come up and I wouldn't write a word. To be fair, this is a long chapter, so I hope you'll like it.

* * *

**Chapter Eleven – Step by Step**

To say that Sara was nervous was an understatement when she finally grabbed the phone and dialed the numbers. It had been a few weeks since she talked to Richard, but now she had news to tell.

"Hello?" A feminine voice answered the phone and Sara had to smile in relief.

"Hi. Monica?" Sara asked, trying to keep it cool. "This is Sara."

"Sara! How nice to hear from you. How's the baby?" Monica asked, sounding happy to talk to her. Sara relaxed a bit and smiled.

"Everything's fine. How come you never complained about morning sickness when you were pregnant?"

"I never had it! I felt sick once with Caleb, but I think it was just indigestion."

Sara laughed with her. "How are the boys?"

"Oh, they're great. Wearing me out already. I can't manage to go the park with them anymore. You know how these things are–and it's pretty difficult to look after three boys running around. Even if Noah is too small to run–but he's already walking pretty fast. I swear, no more children. Three is my limit." Monica laughed. "I take it you're calling to talk to Richard? He's going to work in a minute or so, but I can get him to talk to you."

Sara waited no more than five seconds to hear Richard's voice on the phone – and the brief conversation with Monica managed to calm her down a little.

"Hey, Sara. How's it going?" Richard asked.

"It's good. I know you're busy, so I'll make this quick, okay?" She heard his approval and drew a deep breath. "The baby isn't Henry's. I'm… I'm sorry."

The excruciating pause had Sara biting her lower lip while waiting for some reaction. Maybe it took Richard two seconds or ten minutes to say anything, but time was surely ticking slowly for Sara that moment.

"I… Well, I… I can't say I'm happy, Sara," Richard said slowly. Sara closed her eyes, waiting to hear what would come next. "But I can't say I'm sad either. I'm happy for you, but now it just shows me that there's no chance for Henry to… But that's okay. That's... That's probably what Henry would have wanted. I love you as a sister, Sara. I'm happy for you, and I can't wait to meet your baby."

Sara breathed in relief; while she had had no doubt that Richard would support her, she didn't want any hard feelings left on this situation. "It's… It's a girl."

"A girl?" She heard his response and nodded, even if she knew he couldn't see her. "That's… That's wonderful, Sara. Dad will be so excited. You haven't talked to him yet, have you?"

"No, but he'll be here next week." Sara said. "When are you coming to Vegas?"

"Monica has this conference in January," Richard said. "I think we'll be able to visit you. Come on, I need to see you pregnant. Who knows if you'll ever give us the chance of seeing you that big again?"

Sara laughed.

Things were going to be fine.

* * *

"Gil, good to see you under normal circumstances. What can I do for you?" McKeen asked, motioning for him to sit in one of the chairs in front of his desk.

"Actually, Jeffrey, I come here with a… situation, as one might call it." Grissom said, pursing his lips, trying to make things look as minimal as possible.

"A situation?" McKeen frowned. "Something wrong at the lab?"

"Not really. I'm going straight to the point, Jeff. I'm in a relationship with a subordinate. A romantic relationship." Grissom arched his eyebrows and ignored the undersheriff's surprised face. "And, to make things short, I want us to keep working on the same team."

"Same team, huh? Not an easy thing… And who is the subordinate you're talking about?"

"Sara Sidle. The team just got back together, we've been working very well. Sara and I can be professionals. We've been together for a while and no one noticed a thing." Grissom explained while the sheriff pondered.

"Sidle… Isn't she pregnant?" McKeen asked and Grissom nodded. The undersheriff gave him a small smile. "Gil, this isn't easy. We both know the lab doesn't allow this kind of relationship between members of the same team, and you know how this could be seen in court."

"I've been working here for many years and anyone who says I'm not a professional is a liar. You know that, Jerry." Grissom said and McKeen nodded. "I do remember Ecklie dating a secretary a few years ago. And if I'm not mistaken, the woman dated the lab director before Ecklie was in the picture. I'm sure you remember that, too."

McKeen's face turned white; they both knew _he_was the lab director who dated the secretary. After a few seconds, the undersheriff gave him a fake smile.

"I guess congratulations are in order, then. I think we canwork things out. Catherine can be Sidle's supervisor and handle her evaluations and such. You'll have to be very careful. Well, it's not like we've never had this kind of thing around here before."

"That's why I came here. I trust that we can find a way to make things work." Grissom said, relaxing a little. "You know me. Go check Sara's evaluations. We're professionals and we're very compromised with our jobs."

"I'm sure you both are, although I'm not very sure with Sara's evaluation, since you're the one who did it. But I guess we all have to give in sometime, huh?" McKeen said. "I'll talk to Ecklie about this. Meanwhile, I don't see why you and Sidle can't keep working together."

* * *

"Damn it. Everyone left?" Catherine asked as she got into the break room only to see Sara reading a few notes while having a snack. The brunette smiled, but did not look at her.

"Yeah, Warrick and Greg got a possible suicide and Nick left for a burglary. Don't worry, they have everything covered." Sara said, finally looking up at her co-worker.

"I can see that. And Grissom?" Catherine asked, practically throwing herself at a chair in front of Sara.

"Meeting with the undersheriff."

"Oh. That's odd, coming from Grissom." Catherine frowned. "You know anything about it?"

Sara shrugged. "Why would I?"

"I don't know. You and Grissom seem to be pretty close these days. You know, no more sexual tension and no more angry looks and pissed faces." Sara arched her eyebrows. "Not that I am complaining."

Sara nodded absentmindedly before returning to her paperwork, but Catherine seemed to be in a chatty mood.

"So, how's the baby?"

Sara smiled, turning to look at the woman again and thankful for the change of subject. "She's great."

"Oh my God, you're having a girl?" Catherine nearly squealed. "That's so nice! I mean, obviously boys are great too–but not nearly as fun as girls are to dress. Lindsey was such a cute baby."

Sara snorted. Of course Catherine would say something about dressing. "I guess. We only found out for sure today."

"Oh, you'll have enough time for that during the next months." Catherine said. "Dry fruit? Interesting choice. You keep that up with those milk-shakes I've seen you drinking and you'll be fatter than Kirstie Alley after her divorce."

Sara gave her a pointed look. "I think that's exactly what they want." She rolled her eyes. "Up until a few weeks ago, I only lost weight. Now I need to gain a few pounds. Apparently, it's a bit hard to be a vegetarian _and_pregnant."

"Yeah, but you're doing fine. Pregnancy is easy – the real path starts after the little one is born." Catherine said. "Is she going to be a vegetarian?"

"I don't know. Only if she wants to, I guess." Sara said. "I mean, I became a vegetarian because I wanted to. And before that, I loved meat. If she takes after both sides, she'll love meat all the same."

"That's wise. I take it the father likes a good beef?" Catherine said and Sara tensed up. She knew that tone–she could almost hear the engines inside her co-worker's brains working on a way to get her to tell about the father.

"Actually, he does." Sara answered, smiling as she exchanged a quick look with Grissom, who was just passing through the hall with his cell phone on his ear.

"Just between us, Sara," Catherine said in a quiet voice, "we all know why you're not telling who the father is. You think it will probably make things more real and Grissom would shut you out. But believe me, he won't. He actually seems happy for you."

Sara blinked, trying hard not to chuckle. "I'm not quite following you."

"Come on. You obviously moved on. Which is great, really." She hurried to say. "It's best this way. I mean, I love Grissom, he's my best friend, but you know how he can be. And the lovers and co-workers thing doesn't work. We've seen that in many of our cases."

Sara stared at her in silence. _If only Catherine knew…_

"What I'm saying is," Catherine continued, "I'm very happy to see that you two are friends. Because anything else would be… a bad move. And I'm not saying that would be a bad move for Grissom–it certainly wouldn't. But for you…"

Catherine trailed off, looking at her and clearly expecting some kind of response.

'_Thanks for the advice, but I'm already banging the man' doesn't sound like a good option._

"Yeah, thanks for, um... sharing your thoughts, Catherine." Sara said uncertainly, pursing her lips. "I'm gonna go talk to Grissom about this case. Want me to tell him you're here?"

"No, don't worry, I'll just catch up with some paperwork and then I'll go see him." Catherine said, smiling and watching her as the younger woman left.

* * *

"Hey." Sara said as she approached Grissom's door and he looked up. "I have a question."

He arched his eyebrows and motioned for her to sit on one of the chairs in front of his desk.

"How did you know Roberts was the killer without a DNA sample to confirm?" Sara asked him, flipping through the pages of the case.

"He sneezed. We knew the killer was allergic." Grissom said, taking off his glasses and looking at Sara. "Are you okay?"

She looked up immediately, noticing his concerned expression. She nodded. "Yeah, I'm fine. Thanks for the information."

She gave a flash of a smile before getting up and heading towards the door once again, only looking back at him when she heard him calling her name. When she turned, her eyes still on the papers she held, she waited for him to speak. Only when she heard her name once more she decided to look up.

He glanced at the empty hallway behind her before speaking in a quiet voice. "Are we okay?"

She smiled, sincerely at this time. "Yeah, we are."

* * *

Sara was in the middle of preparing dinner when she heard the distinct sound of a key opening her apartment's door. She didn't even startle when she felt warm hands circling her waist and familiar lips being pressed against the skin just below her ear. She smiled inwardly, shivering slightly when she heard his voice.

"Hi."

She turned in his arms, thinking that her casserole could wait a few minutes.

"Hey." She said as she put her hands to rest on the back of his neck and leaned in to give him a quick peck on his lips. Just as she pulled away his lips crushed into hers once more, quickly deepening the kiss. Her hands found his hair as he caressed her skin just above her jeans' waistband. They were both slightly dazed when they broke apart, but Grissom's lips quickly found their way down to Sara's neck as she played with the collar of his shirt. "I take it everything went well with the undersheriff?"

She rather felt than heard his affirmative answer as he attacked her neck before moving to her lips once again.

She giggled against his lips and he pulled away for a moment, silently asking her what was wrong. "What's gotten into you? Dinner is almost ready!"

"Can't it wait a few more minutes?"

"Well, I..." She started, but his lips captured hers again in a quick kiss, only to leave her expecting more. He smirked. "I suppose dinner can wait."

* * *

Sara was somewhat nervous upon the prospect of seeing Ted in Vegas – it had been almost eight months since he had been there to visit her, and she hadn't had any surprising news to give him then. As she walked around the airport, she tried to find him, but it was a busy day, apparently. Finally, just as she grabbed her phone to call him, she felt a hand on her shoulder.

"Wanna go get some money out of those casinos?" A familiar voice said and Sara turned, a smile already on her face.

"Ted!" She hugged him with affection. "Sorry you had to wait. I just managed to get off of work and I couldn't find you!"

"Whoa, young lady! You keep hugging me and I'll make all the guys in Vegas jealous. Don't want to get any enemies so soon, ya know?" Ted said jokingly as she pulled away to look at him.

Ted Daniels was a fine looking man in his late seventies; his hair was now almost completely white, but Sara still remembered a time when his hair was still light brown. His brown eyes were not as dark as Sara's, but if someone saw them from the distance, they could certainly look like father and daughter.

"I missed you! You just go into one of those jungles and barely communicate with anyone." Sara said, picking up one of the suitcases that rested on the floor.

"And that's the beauty of it, my dear Sara. What are men compared to rocks and mountains, as someone might have said once?" Ted smiled, the lines on his face relaxed. She smiled at his phrase; he reminded her of Grissom, sometimes. "You look great, by the way. You put on some weight, didn't you?"

She laughed. "Is that your way of telling me that I look fat?"

"No, you were too thin that last time we saw each other." He said with a serious expression. "Got me worried, I must say. Now, let's cut with all that crap and go home; you get to tell me all about your new boyfriend and I get to tell you all the juicy details about Senõra Ramirez. But it's our secret, my mistress in Vegas can't find out."

Sara laughed at his joke – she always said he had girlfriends all over the planet, and that was why he was constantly on the move. He always teased her about boyfriends, too, but never heard of any of them.

_Well,_Sara thought as they started to make their way to her car, _now he'll get to hear about a boyfriend and something else._

* * *

"Ah. I did miss the desert." Ted said that afternoon while lounging in Sara's couch.

She smiled. "You mean the strip clubs' signs and the casinos or did you just miss me?"

"The casinos, of course. You know how I like a good poker game." He said mockingly. "You know I like Vegas. It's different from any other city I've ever been to."

"It sure is." She agreed. "I miss the ocean, though. How was San Francisco?"

"Blue and boring. I prefer the yellow and sunny Nevada, thank you very much." Ted said, winking at her. "The boys are great, Richard kept complaining about me not getting in touch with him and Monica went on a conference in Iowa. All the same, as always. But Richard said you'd have a surprise for me. You know I love surprises. What is it?"

Sara pursed her lips. "We'll have company for dinner. I hope you don't mind."

"Oh, not at all. A gentleman, I suppose?" He asked, and Sara could see he was grinning even if she was staring at the road all the time. "Now I guess I must find some Señora Ramirez quickly. I can't be a third wheel tonight."

"You won't. If I'm correct, you'll probably forget all about me at some point." She said, smiling. "He's an entomologist. I'm sure he'll be fascinated by your stories from Nicaragua and Costa Rica."

"Entomologist, huh? Isn't your boss an entomologist? Grissom, right?" Ted asked with a suspicious look. Sara arched her eyebrows.

"Yeah, Gil Grissom. He's, um, the one who's coming. We're… dating." Sara said carefully. "I think you'll like him. I _hope_you'll like him."

"Well, I do believe that I'm not the one who is supposed to _like_him." He said with mischievous eyes. "Do _you_ like him, my dear? Is he good for you?"

Sara turned serious, understanding this wasn't a joke question. "He's great, Ted. The best guy I've ever met. Sometimes I wonder what would have happened without him in my life."

Ted seemed satisfied with her answer and smiled knowingly. "Why do I feel there's more than this to the surprise?"

Sara shifted in her seat uneasily. She knew she had to tell Ted her ultimate news before Grissom arrived, but that didn't make anything easier.

"Well," she started, glancing at him nervously, "as a matter of fact, me having a boyfriend is not the surprise."

Ted arched his eyebrows and straightened up in the couch as Sara drew a deep breath and smiled weakly at him.

"I'm pregnant."

Ted widened his eyes at her, obviously not expecting this. The moment seemed to last an eternity as she waited to see what he would say – she needed this man's approval. He was the closest thing she had to a father and suddenly it seemed crucial for him to be happy about it. It took him about two seconds to smile, and the moment Sara noticed his happy expression she felt tears of relief coming to her eyes.

"I can't believe it!" Ted laughed, embracing her immediately and giving her a big bear hug. "A baby! Now that's a surprise – and the best one, for sure!"

Sara laughed and wiped the tears that had fallen over her cheeks during their hug.

"Are you taking care of yourself?" Ted asked suddenly. "How far along are you? I hope this guy is here for good if the child is his."

Sara felt a pang of guilt in her heart as she heard Ted's words. So innocent – perhaps ignorance was a bless, after all. After weeks of not knowing who the baby's father was, she knew Henry would only be a memory in the end. She could be telling Ted that she was expecting his grandchild and he would be so happy… And still, he seemed so happy to hear that she was expecting a child with another man.

"Grissom is perfect. He's considerate; he comes to every doctor appointment. He's bought us books and has been watching way too many labor videos for me to like." She chuckled. "I'm only seventeen weeks, but it's been great. No problems so far."

"Oh, I'm glad. Not working too much, I hope?"

"Not with Grissom being my boss, no. I have a picture from my last ultrasound." She said, getting up and walking towards her desk. She quickly found it and went back to the couch, handing the picture to Ted. She sat again, feeling something similar with pride as he held up the image to look at it better. "We just found out it's a girl."

"A girl." Ted repeated, staring intently at the picture. "Finally I'll get a granddaughter. Richard failed to produce some XX sperm, I'm afraid. I guess he got it from me. But now we have you and we'll have a baby girl in the family soon."

Tears filled Sara's eyes once again and she felt completely helpless when she tried to keep them from falling. "Well, we'll have to be careful. I don't want her to be spoiled."

"She's already got me wrapped around her finger, and I suspect you feel the same way. Of course she'll be spoiled!" Ted said as if there was no question about this. "This is great, Sara. I'm very happy for you."

Sara smiled tenderly and wondered why she had been so worried about Ted's reaction.

She might have had a difficult time while trying to be a part of a family, but she'd make sure her daughter would never feel the same way.

Her daughter already had a family.

* * *

**A/N:** A quick peek for the next chapter: we'll get to see Grissom and Sara looking at houses! But maybe it isn't for them. Or maybe it is. Grissom didn't ask her to move in with him during this chapter, did him? Nope. And we'll see what Ecklie will say about everything. Anyway, we'll have to wait until next chapter to find out.

I'll try to update soon – I'm thinking about five more chapters or so to come. Maybe I'll update next week – carnival starts on Friday night and I won't have classes or work until Wednesday. Saturday is party day for me, but I'll be home for the rest of the holiday, so… lots of free time to write! But I can't promise anything. Let's just hope that my muse will cooperate.

I'd love to know your thoughts about this chapter. I was a bit nervous about Ted and Richard, and some people asked me if I planned to make Richard a bad guy or something; just to clear things up, I really don't believe in this whole villain thing, haha. I really don't like it when people treat Sofia or Lady Heather as the 'bad guys' because CSI isn't a show for this sort of thing (except with Ecklie during season 5). I really don't like Lady Heather, but I actually liked Sofia and I kinda miss her now. Anyway, that's just my opinion.

I've been having _way_too many ideas lately–most of them for long stories, and I have even started writing a few things, but I'll only publish them once this one is complete and also after a lot of thinking, LOL. My focus is on this one, so don't worry. :)

Hope you have a nice weekend,

_Maddie_


	13. The Simple Things

**Chapter Twelve**

As Sara had predicted, Ted and Grissom got along almost immediately. After some quick introductions, Sara left to check on the kitchen only to come back and see both men immersed in some talk–about bugs, she presumed.

During dinner, Ted proceeded to tell stories about Sara's teenage years in the Daniels' household. Sara _really _thought that some of them were totally unnecessary – why would Grissom need to know that she had a major crush on their neighbor anyway?

"She would always volunteer to walk the dogs or take the trash away." Ted said, and Sara cringed at the memory. "Adam was always at the front of the house, taking care of the cars – the guy didn't really do anything else in life, I guess. But he was, what? Twenty-four, twenty-five?"

"Twenty-five – I guess I always had a thing for older men." She winked at Grissom. "I never even talked to him–other than hello or goodbye, that is. But he did have nice hair."

"Yeah, well–he's bald now. And still lives with his mother." Ted laughed. "I doubt you'd find him even remotely handsome."

The conversation was light–they discussed trivial things, and she could see that Grissom had Ted's approval. They talked about the places they had visited, and both men became immediately drawn to a conversation about the rainforest they had both visited in the past. Feeling a bit dislocated – just a bit – Sara only smiled at them, thankful that everything was going as planned.

Time went by pretty fast, and soon Grissom had to leave; Sara wouldn't be working that night, but Grissom hadn't managed to get the night off, too. As they got up, Ted and Grissom shook hands and exchanged polite smiles.

She walked Grissom to the door, leaving Ted behind, and as soon as Sara reached the door to open it, Grissom had her in his arms.

"I think that went well. What do you think?" He asked her nervously.

She kissed him quickly, and then smiled. "That went _very _well. Will you come over after shift?"

"Sure. I'll call you if I'm late." He said and they kissed once more before he left.

She closed the door quietly, and when she came back to the living room, Ted smiled at her.

She was happy to smile back.

* * *

When Grissom arrived at Sara's place the next morning, he found them both awake and ready to leave. Sara quickly explained that Ted had been planning to buy a house in Vegas, to be free to spend more time around Sara and her daughter, in a few months. His intentions were clear: he wanted to split his time between San Francisco and Las Vegas, and now had an appointment with a real estate agent.

Sara insisted that Grissom didn't have to go with them–he was probably tired after working all night–but he insisted on going. He wanted to spend time with her and Ted, and at first he didn't understand why she had been a bit nervous about this.

And this is how they ended up seeing several houses in the suburbs.

They were currently in the third house – a two-store house in a nice family neighborhood, with three bedrooms and a big backyard. Ted was talking to the real estate agent, and Sara was walking around the house. Grissom followed her silently, not really noticing the house. He was tired, that was an understatement; Sara made some comments here and there, but he mainly nodded at them, sometimes even wishing he had stayed home.

The house was fully decorated and after they had left the master bedroom, Sara marched towards the other rooms. There was a nursery at the end of the hallway and Sara's breath caught her throat when she stood in the middle of the room.

"This house is so perfect." She said, and Grissom's eyes came to rest on her.

She walked towards the large windows and they had a good view of the backyard from there; Grissom had to agree that the house _was _charming, and for the first time he thought about _where _they would put a nursery in their homes.

_Sara's apartment is too small. She'd have to get rid of the guest room in order to have a nursery. His townhouse would have to go through several changes–he had a feeling that his study would have to go. He definitely needed to do something about his insects. Small children liked small things, but that didn't mean insects were good for them._

Then it stuck him. Where would they raise their child? They _were _together, and they were having a baby. The baby wouldn't have to spend time with Sara and then with Grissom–they weren't separated, they didn't need a deal to raise their daughter.

Maybe, just maybe, they could live together. That would be the logical thing to do–they'd both take care of the baby, together, in a place they both lived.

But could he see himself living with Sara? They were together for only a couple of months – what was it, four, five?

But somehow… He could see himself waking up next to her everyday, without having to rush for his townhouse to get something.

And this… This was a nice house. Nice neighbor. The basement was big enough so that he could have his insects and his study in there. There were three bedrooms – one would be theirs, the other would be the baby's, and they would still have a guest bedroom.

And he knew Sara had liked this house. He saw the way she looked at the master bathroom – it was pretty cool, he had to admit that. The kitchen was big. The living room was nice. They could park both their cars in the garage.

This was perfect.

"You like this house?" He asked her, and she nodded enthusiastically, not looking at him.

"Yes, it's perfect. I don't think this is for Ted, but…"

"You know, this would be great for us." He said, putting an arm around her shoulders and looking at the backyard. "There's enough space for our things. We could put a swing back there. Our little girl would love it. We could even have a dog."

"I guess so." He heard her confused reply after a few moments, knowing that she was thinking about what he said.

_Silence could be frustrating sometimes_, Grissom pondered.

He decided to say nothing more; maybe he shouldn't have said anything. Their relationship was still in its early stages, even if they were basically living together in two different places.

"The master bedroom is great." She said after a while, and he turned to look at her with wide eyes. "Are you suggesting what I think you're suggesting?"

"About buying this house together?" Grissom asked, a bit astonished. Sara nodded with wide eyes. "Yes. I'd like that. What do you say?"

She turned in his arms, to be face-to-face to him. He was nervous, and she seemed to be searching for some kind of emotion in his features. He wasn't nervous or afraid. He wanted this.

"I… I don't know. We're not together for a long time, this is… this is a huge step. I'm not… I'm not sure we're ready for that yet." Sara said. "I mean… I know we're technically living together, but buying a house and… It just seems so official. Not even the team knows about us yet, and maybe this is happening too fast, I'm not sure we can…"

He smiled lovingly at her, grabbing both of her hands. His gesture made her stop talking, and she let out a nervous laugh.

"I was over-talking again, wasn't I?"

"Yes, dear." He brought her hands together to his lips and gave them both a gentle kiss. "If you think this is too fast, it's fine. You won't hurt my feelings. But maybe – well, I'm pretty sure having a child together is a bigger decision than moving in together. We know each other well, I'm sure we can handle this. But if you're not comfortable with this, it's okay."

He let go of her hands and moved his arm around her shoulders again, looking at the backyard; he could imagine a little girl running around happily, with Sara's eyes and hair, smiling at him…

But if Sara couldn't see it, then there was nothing he could do.

* * *

Ted was gone the next day–he'd be spending some much needed relaxing time in Florida with some friends who weren't a hundred yet (his words, not Grissom's)–and in the end he bought a small house a few streets away from the one Sara had loved.

He didn't approach the subject again, and neither did Sara. They had yet to hear something from McKeen and Ecklie – no one but Brass and Greg knew and even they didn't say much about their relationship. Grissom was glad to have finally met Ted–he was happy to see that Sara was part of a family, even if sometimes she didn't feel that way.

Soon enough, the day came when they were both called to Ecklie's office; as soon they stepped into his office, they knew he wasn't happy.

"Good. You're early." He said drily. "Can't say I'm not surprised about this situation. The sheriff wasn't happy about this, as you must know. Not very good for the lab."

Grissom arched his eyebrows as he took a seat in front of Ecklie's desk and Sara did the same; her history with Ecklie was bad enough and she didn't want another thing on her file.

Before the silence could get even more uncomfortable, Catherine burst into the office.

"Good evening, gentlemen. Shift starts in five minutes, I hope you this will be brief." She said quickly, and then realized Sara was there and frowned. "Okay, what is this about?"

"Have a seat, Catherine. We're here to talk about your promotion." Ecklie said, glancing briefly at the couple and then back at Catherine as she sat. "CSI Sidle won't be responding to Grissom any longer. We want you to be her supervisor from now on. Evaluations, cases, anything from Sidle goes for you first. What do you say?"

"No problem." Catherine said, awkwardly looking at Sara and Grissom.

"If some attorney somehow uses this against us, we'll have to change the deal. And people ask why inter-office romances aren't stimulated." Ecklie said inwardly. "Sidle, you start responding to Catherine from this day. Don't make me regret this decision."

They left the office with little smiles on their faces and a sense of relief; as soon they got into the elevator, however, Catherine demanded explanations.

"You're together? As of… recently together?" She asked, still looking a bit shocked.

"For almost five months." Grissom quietly said.

"Five months! And you're expecting a baby and…" Catherine repeated in disbelief. "This must be some crazy dream." She looked at Sara. "Please don't tell me Brass is the baby daddy."

"This is not a dream, Catherine. Sara and I are expecting a baby together."

"Okay. Don't get me wrong, I'm happy for you. I'm just… confused." She then smiled a little. "Thank God you're expecting a girl. Another Gil Grissom would be too much for this world."

Grissom remained serious while Sara laughed quietly.

Everything would be okay.

* * *

They told the team that same day about the new arrangements, prompting everyone to ask questions and – well, for the first, get some answers. Nick and Warrick were surprised, but congratulated them afterwards; in a matter of hours, the whole lab knew about them.

As the week flew by, Saturday came and Grissom was glad that both he and Sara had the night off; they would have dinner at his mother's house for the first time, and Grissom knew that his girlfriend was way too nervous for her own good. She needed to relax.

And, of course, there was nothing like a good baseball game to make someone relax.

But that's what Grissom thought, anyway.

So this was how Sara ended up sitting in the back row of a baseball game–but not _just _a baseball game. A baseball game with eight-year-old children playing.

Grissom had gone to buy them some snacks while Sara found them both places to sit–it wasn't all that difficult, after all. It was a school game, so she guessed that most of these people were relatives to the children, and she felt a little out of place, since she didn't know any of them, and she knew how these things were; friendly people doing some small talk as their children played.

She briefly wondered if, in a few years, she would be one of these moms.

She scanned the little crowd quickly, seeing several people taking pictures and recording the match. Yeah, the joys of parenthood.

"You're new, right?" The woman who was sitting next to Sara said as the CSI's eyes were taking in the people.

Sara turned to look at her, seeing a woman a bit older than she was, camera in hand and a soft smile on her face.

"Yeah. Is that so clear?" Sara asked sympathetically.

The woman chuckled. "Not at all. I just never saw you around before. Which one is yours?"

It took Sara about five seconds to realize that the woman was asking which child was hers. "What? Um, no, I don't know any of the children. My, um, boyfriend's godson is playing, but I don't know him yet. I don't even know which team he is in. His name is Benjamin."

The woman looked at her in surprise. "You're Gil's girlfriend?" Sara nodded slowly, and the woman smiled wider at her. "I'm Susan Wainwright, Benjamin's mother. It's great to finally meet you!"

Sara smiled in bewilderment, shaking Susan's hand. "Sara Sidle."

She felt Susan's eyes scanning her, as if she was looking at her for the first time ever. Susan looked at the field, and then pointed at a boy with a bat, waiting for the whistle. "That's Ben over there. My husband, Mark, is the coach. Do you like baseball?"

Sara gave her a pointed look. "I used to, but sometimes I hate it."

"What? Gil stops listening to you when he's watching a game?" Susan asked and Sara nodded. "Join the club. Mark is just like that too–it's like talking to a wall."

Grissom arrived not two minutes later with some popcorn and sodas; they talked about Ben's latest achievements: how he got an A in math and what his science project was. Grissom seemed interested, and when the game was over, the boy ran to Grissom almost immediately. Sara laughed as the boy talked about the game while Grissom paid attention to him.

"They're great together, right?" Susan said as they watched Mark, Grissom and Ben talking. "When Mark suggested Gil to be Ben's godfather, I thought he had to be joking. But I'm glad he was serious. At the risk of possibly embarrassing myself to death if I'm wrong… How far along are you, Sara?"

Sara choked on the popcorn a little bit, a bit taken aback by the sudden question, but smiled afterwards.

"No embarrassment needed. I'm eighteen weeks along. How did you know?" Sara asked, fully aware that the blouse she was wearing couldn't give away her pregnancy yet.

"I don't think you're showing yet, but I remember being pregnant. We can't leave our stomach's alone. I kept caressing it, trying to notice any different sign. It's something we do unconsciously, I guess." Susan shrugged, smiling. "Boy or girl?"

"Girl."

"That's great. Congratulations, Sara." Susan said, giving her a light hug. "Motherhood isn't easy, but it's the most gratifying thing on Earth. Gil will make a wonderful father."

"I never doubted that." Sara smiled.

* * *

To say that Sara was nervous upon meeting Gil's mother would be an understatement.

Betty Grissom wasn't as quiet as her son, though; she was pretty 'talkative', always signing with a smile on her face, but since Sara was still new on ASL, Grissom mostly translated everything. Still, she was _very _observant, and Sara sometimes felt just like she imagined some of Grissom's insects did. Betty seemed to be analyzing her every movement, and that was pretty intimidating. Grissom seemed to realize that, but he also seemed pretty confident about everything, which made Sara very glad.

"So, what do you think?" Grissom signed his mother as Sara excused herself to use the bathroom.

"She's nice. Pretty, very polite. Young." Betty pointed out, arching her eyebrows just like her son. "I can see why you're attracted to her. She seems very clever."

"She is. I love her." Grissom signed and Betty smiled.

"You've said that before, dear."

"This time is different. I love Sara. Believe me when I say she'll be around for quite some time. If it's up to me, she'll be around forever." Grissom said, finishing just as Sara was returning.

Suddenly realizing he never told Sara about his feelings, and knew this was the time. He knew she would be surprised, and he knew his mother would ask questions. So, he spoke clearly as he signed.

"Sara and I are having a baby."

His mother gasped, and Sara gaped at him, obviously shocked at his boldness.

He took Sara's left hand and kissed her palm, trying to reassure her as she relaxed a little.

"Really?" His mother spoke out loud, looking at Sara questioningly.

"Yes. I'm pregnant." Sara signed clumsily, but Grissom smiled at her attempt.

"We're expecting a girl in April." Grissom clarified as his mother tried to recompose herself. He stood up after a few moments, walked over to Sara and hugged her, congratulating them both and promptly asking them a hundred questions about the pregnancy.

And maybe, just maybe, this would serve to bring them closer than Grissom expected.

* * *

"I thought about Louisa. What do you think?" Grissom asked her later that night, as they lay in bed. It was becoming a habit of them; Sara would read a book or a magazine and Grissom lay beside her, often lifting her shirt so that he could talk to the baby.

Sara pulled her eyes from the magazine to look at him, scrunching her nose in thought. "It's nice, but… I don't know. Will she have a middle name?"

"I guess. I have a middle name. So do you. It would be logical if she did, too."

"Getting traditional, are we?" Sara teased, tracing the outline of his jaw after putting the book on the nightstand. "I hope she has your eyes. I love blue eyes. My dad's eyes were a bit like yours – his were a darker shade of blue, I think. Both me and my brother didn't get them, though."

They were quiet for a few minutes until Sara said, in a clear voice. "I called my mother this morning."

Grissom frowned, surprised that she hadn't told him about this sooner.

"Have you told her, then? About the baby?" Grissom asked quietly.

"Yeah. She was very happy. Liam already has a girl, so she was very excited to hear that I'll have one too." Sara said. "She wants to come here to help me after the baby is born." She said, frowning slightly. "There is so much for us to do. We need a nursery, a name… I wonder if four months are enough."

"They are. Let's move in together, Sara." Grissom said quietly, moving from his spot near her belly to kiss her lips. "Let's buy that house you loved."

"I'm not sure I can afford a house, Gil."

"We can. We can sell the townhouse. We could have a dog." Grissom suggested. "What do you say? We could go take a look at the house again. Just… take a look. We don't have to buy it."

His eyes glittered with the faint light of the lamp and Sara smiled.

"Well, when you ask so nicely, how can I say no?" She said, kissing him again.

* * *

**A/N:** I'm so sorry about the delay, guys! I hadn't had any inspiration whatsoever for this story lately and life often gets in the way. Too much to study, so little time! Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this chapter. I'm sorry if there are many mistakes, I decided I wouldn't review it – that would take time and I'd probably postpone posting it until next month, haha. I've already started writing the next one, but I can't promise when I'll post it. Now they've met the in-laws, the lab knows… But there's still a lot to do! I'm thinking there will be only two more chapters to go.

Please let me know what you think about this. :) Love to hear from you! I was very nervous about Betty, but I'm thinking they would get along well in these circumstances. Fanfiction is now everything left for me, since this last season's finale was just… ugh. I'm seriously thinking about giving up on CSI. But don't worry, I'll never give up on GSR. :)

Hope you'll have a nice week,

_Maddie_


	14. By Your Side

**Chapter Thirteen - By Your Side**

Sara wasn't sure how it all happened, but three weeks later she found herself moving out of her apartment – the place she had been calling home for the past six years – to a new place, a house she would be sharing with Grissom and, in about four months, with their baby daughter.

She was twenty-one weeks pregnant and apart from the morning sickness of the first months, she had felt great – absolutely normal. People could barely tell that she was pregnant. Until two weeks ago.

Her doctor had told her that she was small, but that that was just normal; some women gained more weight and showed sooner than others. She was pretty thin when she got pregnant, and she had a slight bump, but her clothes covered it just fine. Now, well… She needed new clothes. Maternity clothes. And everyone would know that she was pregnant.

Grissom was, of course, being very attentive; he always asked how she was feeling and he bought gifts for her and toys for the baby almost every day. She insisted that she was fat and big – and her skin wasn't exactly that great – but he'd tell her every day that she was beautiful.

"God, I had no idea I had so many things at my apartment." Sara said, shaking her head as she took a few items from a box. "Do you think we'll be ready to be living here by Christmas?"

"Sure. Two weeks from now we'll have everything in its place, you'll see." Grissom said, walking over to where she stood in the kitchen island, and kissing her temple with a smile.

He looked at her as she sorted things out in drawers and cabinets, admiring her silhouette; their baby was certainly making her presence known, and Sara couldn't be more beautiful than she was now. However, after spending her day off out and about their new house, he worried that she was over-working.

"Aren't you tired, honey? Perhaps you should lie down a little. You've been on your feet for hours." Grissom suggested.

"No, I want to finish this." She said, stiffening a yawn.

"Sara, you're tired. Let's go to the townhouse, grab some sleep, and then we can come back here tomorrow after shift." He said, gently putting his arm around her shoulders. She tiredly leaned into him.

"Okay, you're right." She nodded. "But at least let me finish this box."

He chuckled. "No problem. Let me help you, though."

They spent a few minutes emptying the box in a comfortable silence. Grissom had just put some bowls in a cabinet when he heard a small gasp coming from Sara. Alarmed, he turned over and searched his girlfriend's face for any sign of discomfort.

Sara looked at his eyes almost immediately. "I think I felt her."

Her expression was one of almost shock, as if she didn't actually believe in what she had just experienced. Grissom walked over to her just as she was smiling again.

"Yeah, that's her." She said, reaching for his hand and putting it resting on her lower belly. "Right there. I had been feeling weird things but I wasn't sure if it was her. Now I know. Can you feel it?"

Grissom's smile mirrored hers and Sara felt tears in her eyes. "I think she wants to help us with the move."

Sara laughed, a happy sound that made him wonder why he had waited so much to have this with her. "Or maybe she's just telling us to stop."

"Maybe. We'll have to wait until she's born to ask her that." Grissom said, caressing Sara's cheek and wiping a single happy tear away before capturing her lips in a loving kiss. "I love you, Sara. I love you both."

"I love you too." She said tearfully. She let out another laugh. "Come on, let's go."

Grissom laughed and, without letting go of her hand, followed her out of their house.

* * *

"You know, ever since everyone found out about you and Grissom, you seem more pregnant." Greg said as he and Sara processed a car. "Maybe it's the coveralls, but I think little Silje is finally making her presence known."

"Well, pregnant women eventually look pregnant, Greg." Sara said, looking at him sternly through the glasses she now needed to wear while processing almost everything. "And her name is _not _Silje."

"Oooh, you've decided on a name? I can just see it. Bet there is some bug meaning behind it." Greg teased.

"I'm not telling you. And before you ask, it's not Silje or Gregoria." Sara laughed.

"Asta?"

"Greg! What's this thing with names?" Sara asked, but Greg stared at her sheepishly. A look of realization crossed Sara's face. "Oh. I get it. There's a poll, right?"

"Most people think you'll go all weird. I seem to be the only one who thinks you'll go traditional. Hodges thinks you'll name her Paula." Greg said, rolling his eyes.

"Paula?"

"Yeah, 'cause his middle name is Paul, and he said that Grissom wanted to honor him somehow because he always encouraged him to pursue you." Greg explained, arching his eyebrows. "You're not thinking about naming her Paula, are you? Because that would be randomly bad."

Sara chuckled. "No worries. We're not naming her after Hodges."

"Now, back to business. Catherine wants to throw you a baby shower soon." Greg said slowly. "It's not really a baby shower. She knows you won't want one. It's mainly for us to see your new place. You know, the one you said nothing about."

"Who told you?"

"Human Resources. I went on a date with the receptionist, you know, Miranda? She has some weird toes, but that doesn't make her any less nice. Anyway… You changed your address and said nothing about it!" Greg explained. "Then I asked Catherine if she knew about this and Grissom came in and she told him she'd be throwing a baby shower at your place. But tell me. Nice house in the suburbs, expectant mother, the man of your dreams. What happened to Sara Sidle? And don't tell me your name is Sara Grissom. I can forgive the house and the pregnancy, if you go buy a dog and get married…"

"I'm not married. Or engaged. The baby wasn't exactly planned and the house was… a consequence. Our places weren't made for children, so we decided to move." Sara shrugged. "It's no big deal. It seemed like the logical thing to do."

"Oh, yes. And who are you to defy logic?" Greg teased. "Seriously, though. I'm happy for you. When can I visit you at your new place?"

"I'm not sure. Most of my things are already there, but we're still living at Grissom's. I really want to be living there by Christmas, but it's been difficult to find time." Sara sighed. "I'll talk to Grissom. Once we're living there, you can come over and see the place. We haven't even started on the nursery yet."

"Oh, yes. Have you thought about any theme? Maybe ladybugs or simply pink for baby Megan?" Greg suggested, arching his eyebrows suggestively.

Sara laughed. "Her name is not Megan. And no, we haven't thought about a theme. Can we focus on this car?"

"Okay, fine. But I'm sure little Ava wants us to keep talking about her." Greg said, pretending to feel offended.

Sara rolled her eyes. "Her name is not Ava, Greg."

* * *

It was almost winter in Las Vegas, and Christmas was coming – just as Sara's belly grew steadily.

Even though she would often complain about getting big, he couldn't help but think she was a vision. Her normal clothes gave place to maternity ones – and while she had been a bit insecure at the beginning, he knew she was feeling much more confident now, without morning sickness and knowing that their baby was healthy. She didn't want to hide her belly anymore; she even bought some tops that accentuated her new silhouette – and he couldn't help but love the new nightgowns that complimented her changing body so much.

Still, there was a lot to be done. They had been busy moving into the new house and now, as Christmas approached, they were busy planning the nursery.

After spending weeks in the move, they spent the last few days buying everything the baby needed – they already had some clothes and many toys, but they needed furniture and decoration. The room where the nursery would be – the room that had been decorated as one when they visited the house for the first time – was very spacious, with its white carpet and light pink walls – but Sara was completely against the pink walls. They decided that a light creamy yellow would be better for their baby's room.

Grissom's love for insects was obviously not out of the equation; the first linen set he bought had tiny bees in it. The second had butterflies.

Of course, the team thought it was only appropriated for their baby to have stuffed animals and, specially, insects. Just Greg by himself had given Sara a ladybug, a big caterpillar and a bumble bee pillow pet Sara was sure her baby girl would take more than just a few months to use it.

Sara was a bit more eclectic about everything; she bought some animals and even went along the bug theme by buying this very delicate firefly mobile.

"Blame it on my ignorance, but I never knew a baby needed so many things." Sara said as they arrived in their brand new home after going to the baby store. "Are you sure all of that will fit into the nursery?"

"I'm sure we'll find room." Grissom smiled as Sara lay on the couch, propping her feet up and grimacing a little. "Everything alright, honey?"

"Yeah, yeah. Just a bit tired." Sara yawned as he took a seat near her feet. "For once I'm glad we don't have to work tonight. We can enjoy our quiet, peaceful time together."

Grissom leaned against the couch, bringing her feet to his lap. "Yeah, we could watch that labor video I got last week."

"I said quiet and peaceful, Gilbert."

* * *

She had told him about a million of times. She had reminded him about it in the morning. She had even put a note on the fridge so that he wouldn't forget. He laughed it off and told her he wouldn't forget such an important thing.

Maybe she was overreacting. It wasn't a big deal anyway; it was just one more appointment, another ultrasound. No big deal.

Still, he didn't show up. He had been called in a case just minutes before shift was over. She went home alone, thinking that he would be able to arrive in time. His cell phone was apparently unavailable. When she called Catherine, she had been told the scene was into the desert, with no service area and lots, lots of bugs.

So, she went to the doctor by herself, got a new picture of the ultrasound to show Grissom if she felt like it, and went back home. She had just finished dressing for work when she heard the front door opening; Grissom was home.

"Hi, honey. Sorry I'm late – you wouldn't believe the state of the crime scene." Grissom said as he approached her as she put on some makeup.

He was obviously unworried, and his excitement over the crime scene and the bugs almost made her forgive him immediately. He talked about the different kinds of flies that were around the body, how the warm environment probably interfered in the decomposition, how he was going to work on the timeline. She merely nodded as he spoke; she was hurt and, to be honest, not in the mood for hearing about crime scenes, having been confined into the lab for the last two weeks, following protocol.

"I almost called you to come over, but a crime scene is dangerous for you, especially one that far away. I want you analyzing the case – perhaps helping me with the timeline if you feel like it. What do you think?" He asked, following her into their bedroom.

"You're the supervisor, you choose it."

Grissom stopped in his track, as she could see through the mirror, ready to ask her what was wrong. She looked up just in time to see realization taking place; he connected the dots.

"Sara, the appointment… I'm sorry. I really didn't mean to – God, I promised I wouldn't forget," Grissom said, running his hand through his hair in an embarrassed motion.

Sara shrugged, ignoring the tears that were threatening to come. She combed her hair as she spoke. "It's okay. No big deal."

"No, Sara, it's not…"

"I'm going to the lab right now," she interrupted him quickly, "I have some evidences to process before shift. Don't worry, I haven't maxed out on overtime. I'll see you later."

She grabbed her purse and managed a smile before leaving the room.

* * *

Sara felt drained when she arrived home the next morning, perhaps from work or perhaps from the emotional state she had been in ever since she left home for work. Confined to the lab, she worked through some evidences with Nick and Warrick, both only occasionally asking her if she needed anything, as usual. Nobody seemed to notice that she had been avoiding Grissom.

Of course, after much thinking and a few tears, she was now feeling guilty. It wasn't _really _a huge thing – of course, he _did _promise he wouldn't miss the appointment, but he was still Grissom. He was still learning, and so was she. A crime scene _could _be distracting. Perhaps she had been too tough on him anyway. She should have let him explain himself, at least.

When she left the lab, Grissom wasn't there – it wasn't like him to not tell her when he would be home, so she assumed he had been called to yet another scene, and left work half an hour after the end of shift.

When she arrived home, however, she was greeted by the distinct smell of Grissom's French toasts. She smiled sadly, thinking that he was probably beyond nervous and eager to apologize to her – and probably curious about how the appointment went, too.

She took off her shoes and sighed in relief as she put her purse on the side table. She rubbed her back tiredly and caressed her belly absentmindedly as she walked to the kitchen.

Just as she had predicted, she found Grissom standing in front of the counter with his back to her. She was just about to say something to make her presence known when she spotted something that didn't belong to their new kitchen – or perhaps hadn't been there the day before.

Right in front of the large window, on the counter, rested a large glass flower vase – with a beautiful violet bouquet in it. She could see different types of violet – she wasn't much into flowers, but she loved violets, and she loved that Grissom remembered that.

"Hey," Sara said, standing beside the breakfast bar, tearing her eyes away from the flowers to look at her boyfriend. He turned around upon hearing her voice and smiled.

"Hello, my dear," he said, and Sara almost melted upon hearing the endearment. His smile was cautious, a bit unsure, so she walked over to stand in front of the flowers and inspect them closely.

"Are these for me?" She asked, looking at Grissom to find him watching her intently.

"Yes," he said after a moment, "I know you prefer vegetation, but I thought you'd like them. I never really gave you flowers, anyway."

"I love them. They're beautiful. Thank you."

"Listen, Sara… I'm sorry about yesterday. I got… carried away and forgot." He started, but Sara shook her head.

"I overreacted. I know how excited you get about bugs and I know you didn't mean to forget. It's okay."

"No, honey, it's not okay. This is our daughter we're talking about. I should have been there. This won't happen again." He walked over to her and put his hand over hers, which had been resting unconsciously on her belly. "I'm sorry. You're too good to me, Sara."

She laughed. "I probably am. But I love you anyway."

"So we're okay?"

She nodded and leaned in to give him a peck on the lips.

"We're great."

They exchanged a bright smile of relief and just as Grissom moved his hands to her waist and took a step closer to her she wrinkled her nose.

"Gil, honey, I think there's something burning…"

Grissom quickly moved away from her, murmuring something about 'bad timing', and she chuckled as she watched him rummage through the drawers. She glanced at the flowers again, smiling inwardly.

"So, um… how's everything? Is she alright?" She heard Grissom asking as he tried to fix the toasts.

"Yeah, she's great. She's just over a pound. I have the video of the ultrasound and a new photo. She's been moving a lot." Sara said as she took a seat.

"And you? The doctor said anything about your anemia?"

"Yeah, we're definitely over it. I gained more weight, so she said everything couldn't be better." Sara smiled as Grissom put a plate of French toast with strawberries in front of her. "Aren't you attentive today? You know I love strawberries," she teased.

Grissom shrugged, trying to hide a smile. "I do know a thing or two about you, my dear."

She took a piece of toast to her mouth, thinking that while Grissom didn't cook much, when he did cook he was the best. She looked at the flowers on the other side of the kitchen.

"You chose the flowers yourself?" Sara asked curiously.

Grissom nodded. "Yeah, they had several bouquets – I thought about getting roses, but didn't feel appropriate. I know you like violets, and it is said that if you have purple in a room you have peace of mind."

Sara smiled at his explanation. They continued to eat in a comfortable silence, sharing smiles and caressing all the while. After a few minutes, a thought crossed Sara's mind.

"Gil," she started, "what do you think about the name Violet?"

He answered her question a moment later with a smile.

* * *

**A/N:** I'm soooo sorry about the delay! I've been trying to finish this chapter for ages, but it's been difficult to find time. Well, better late than never, right? I'll try to start writing next chapter today, but it might be a while before I post it. I'll try to be quicker, though. Again, I had no time to re-read it, and I decided not to wait for my beta to read this over before posting it (sorry, Mary!).

Anyway, I really hope you enjoyed the chapter. I struggled a little at the beginning, but after a while it flowed better. Please let me know if I completely lost my touch with this story! (you can say if it's too corny, I don't mind – I'm in a corny mood lately)

Have a nice Halloween!

_Maddie_


	15. Sweet Dreams

**Chapter 14 - Sweet Dreams**

Sometimes it was overwhelming.

Because, really, not a year ago his life had been… normal. He worked, went home, got some sleep, and then… worked again. He didn't talk much to his mother to avoid questions and he didn't talk much to… anyone. He worried about his team. He worried about Sara.

But he had been alone.

And now… well, he worked, went home – to a home he now shared with Sara – got some sleep, among other things, and went to work again, on time, not two hours earlier. He worried about the team. He worried about Sara. He worried about his unborn daughter.

In truth, he was happy with his life. Maybe his relationship with Sara didn't begin off conventionally. But then, they really aren't the most conventional individuals at all.

He loved her. He knew that for a long time – the words just flew easily now. He loved that they were having a child together. He hoped his little girl would have her eyes.

And he knew Sara was happy too. Of course he did. She was glowing just like he knew she would. They moved in to a new house they both had chosen. They decorated the Violet's nursery together. She let him keep his bugs, and he let her organize his books the way she wanted to.

They were good together. In fact, he was almost sure they could make this work for a very long, long time. And they were both satisfied with their relationship.

Which is exactly why he couldn't understand his mother's insistence upon seeing them married.

"Mom, I already told you," he signed while looking at her severely, "Sara and I are happy the way we are."

It was Christmas Eve, and they were enjoying dinner with his mother. Things were going well so far – his mother only made one complaint about Sara's vegetarianism, asking her if she was having a balanced diet even without eating meat. She even complimented her on the house's decoration, saying it was better than Gil's old one (Grissom wasn't sure what this meant, considering the townhouse's decoration, but Sara beamed when she said so), and Betty didn't seem to not have liked the name they had chosen for the baby, which was fine.

"You're having a child together," Betty signed, "Will Violet take your last name or Sara's?"

"It doesn't matter to me," he replied, thinking the whole conversation pointless and wishing Sara would be back from the restroom soon, but he knew her bladder was a bit urgent these days.

Truth was, he knew Sara wasn't a big wedding fan. She wasn't one of those women who wanted to get married in a big, white dress, with a big, white ceremony. And he also knew she had her doubts – sure, they were having a child together, and they were living together, but she feared they would turn into her parents. It was an irrational thought, really – they were completely different individuals from her parents – but still, after everything she went through, he couldn't blame her.

He didn't say this to Betty, but he also thought that even if they got married, he didn't think Sara would take his last name. It just wasn't something he could see in the future.

To his credit, he didn't feel they should get married after so little time together. Sure, he could see them together for a long, long time, and he loved Sara dearly, but they were still in the learning stage of their relationship. It was too early – he was sure he wouldn't consider getting married to Sara so soon if she wasn't pregnant, and he was sure both of them didn't want to get married because of the baby.

So, no, marriage wasn't on their plans. Not yet, anyway.

It was just difficult for his mother to understand this.

"Sara doesn't want to get married. She doesn't think a piece of paper would show us how much we're committed to each other, and I agree with her," Grissom said.

Betty shook her head, and he knew this battle wasn't over. His mother was a modern woman for her age – but there were some things she just couldn't let go.

"She's changed you so much already. Surely you could change her a little, Gilbert."

* * *

"Oh my God, look how big you are!" Colleen's voice reached Sara's ears the moment she walked into the Caesar's Palace café. Her friend was suddenly in front of her, hugging as much of her as she could given Sara's state.

Sara smiled as she followed Colleen to a table and took in her friend's appearance. It had been months since they had last seen each other, and Colleen looked thinner than usual, but she looked fine. Having called Sara upon hearing about a chemistry convention in Las Vegas, Colleen was eager to see her friend, asking a million questions about the baby after giving Sara two pink outfits – Sara wasn't much into pink, but even she had to admit they were adorable.

"If I had known you were naming her Violet, I would have picked purple clothes. But that would be a bit of a cliché, right?" Colleen laughed. "Please tell me Grissom didn't fill up the nursery with bugs."

Sara smiled. "Well, not _alive _bugs, no."

They talked more about Violet, Sara's due date and her work, but Sara could see there was something bothering Colleen.

"Colleen," Sara said as her friend turned quiet after a moment, "out with it. What happened? Is everything alright?"

"Yeah, sure, why wouldn't it be?" Colleen said, a bit too fast for Sara's liking. Sara kept looking at her with a serious expression. Colleen sighed. "Okay, so everything's not alright. I… Scott and I are getting a divorce."

Sara laid down her fork, surprised by the sudden news, and stared quietly at Colleen, knowing she would speak more soon.

"I wanted kids. He didn't. While I was desperately trying to get pregnant we just… grew apart." She said, playing with her food.

"Oh, Colleen… Why didn't you say anything to me?"

"I was in denial, Sara. I didn't want to see what was going on." She said bitterly. "Two months ago, he told me he had a vasectomy when he was younger. That's why I wasn't getting pregnant. Can you believe it? I spent more than a year trying to get pregnant, each month worrying more and more about why it wasn't happening when I was apparently so healthy. And then he tells me that. It's like… we never knew each other at all."

Sara pursed her lips, not knowing exactly what to say. "I'm sorry."

"Don't be. It's best this way," Colleen said, managing a smile, "I'm so happy for you, Sara. You and Grissom seem to be on the same page. I wish I could have had that with Scott."

Sara gave her a sympathetic smile. "You'll find someone else, Colleen."

"I hope so. Right now, I'm more worried about Scott's things out of my apartment and legalizing the divorce." Colleen said a bit aggressively. "Now, I'll warn you, since I'm not having a baby anytime soon, I'll just have to spoil Violet non-stop. Aunt Colleen will give her lots and lots of Barbie dolls when she's older, because I don't think Daddy will stop giving her bugs until she starts declining them."

Sara rolled her eyes as Colleen spoke; she would have to be careful to not raise a spoiled child if all her friends had their way.

* * *

Sara couldn't sleep.

She couldn't sleep, and it was getting just more and more uncomfortable by the minute.

It was funny, how after being an insomniac for so many years, she slept easily when she got pregnant. That was it, lie down and sleep. Sometimes all she needed was a chair, and she was out like a light.

But she had never, ever, been this tired before. She was thirty weeks pregnant, and while she had been glad when her doctor told her that Violet was doing perfectly well and that she was developing just as she should be, Sara couldn't help but wonder if her baby wasn't _too_ big. Her belly certainly wasn't. She could only imagine how big she would be in a month.

So, she was very tired. She worked an entire shift that night and she even went to breakfast with Warrick and Greg after shift. When she arrived home, she did laundry and cleaned up and her feet were swelling and she wanted to wait for Gil to arrive so that they would go to bed together.

So she did. She was exhausted, but she waited for Gil to come home – she was barely awake, really – and she went to bed with his hands resting on her belly lovingly. She managed to find a comfortable position and drifted to sleep just as Gil started snoring.

Of course, Violet didn't seem to be very tired, and Sara woke up not half an hour later with her baby pressing against her bladder. She got up in a hurry and went to the bathroom.

When she got back to bed, Grissom was facing the other side of the bed, snoring a bit louder than before. She sighed and tried to find a comfortable position again.

No success. She had been on her side before, but now her baby was very active, and no position seemed comfortable enough for her to sleep.

But she _needed _to sleep. She was tired and grumpy, her feet were big, her back hurt, and Grissom was snoring _so _loud, and Violet was now pressing against her ribs and it was a bit painful and too much for her to be feeling right now. She briefly wondered if she would miss this after Violet was born.

So she got up slowly, put on her robe and went to do what she had been used to do when she was single, living alone and not pregnant. Anything.

She went to the kitchen and drank some orange juice before going to the living room. She sat carefully on the couch, wincing as she felt another sharp pain near her ribs.

After ten minutes or so of watching TV with no success and feeling even more tired than before, Sara got up again. By now, she was used to feeling lots of kicks during the day; Violet was an active baby, she knew that. But it had never gotten so bad during the time she was supposed to be sleeping.

She walked quietly around the house, and heard Grissom's snores as she passed their room. She stopped in the nursery, settling herself down the rocking chair, hoping some slow movements would make her baby stop moving a little.

No such thing. She lifted her pajama top to see something that was probably an elbow against her. She remembered the first time they could make out Violet's movements without even touching her belly. Leaning back on the chair, Sara put her hand on top of where she thought her baby's elbow was, making slow motions against her skin.

"Come on, sweetheart. Mommy needs to rest," Sara said quietly, and just as she finished speaking she felt another movement, now against her right ribs. She winced in pain. "Okay. Now, Violet, what's got you so worked up? I'm sure you need rest too."

The pain didn't subside, and Sara was feeling frustrated now. Her baby was already challenging her, and she wasn't even born yet.

"Violet, honey, please be good to Mommy." She tried again, her voice a lot calmer than she was feeling right now. "Moments like this make Mommy worried about how you'll sleep once you're born."

As if in contradiction, the pain was gone as suddenly as it had come, only now Violet was being pressed once more against her skin.

"Oh, I get it," Sara said in a soothing tone after the pain stopped a little, "You were awfully quiet during that surveillance video analysis today. I bet you were asleep then. I don't blame you, really. Surveillance videos are awfully boring."

She heard a snicker coming from the doorway and found Grissom looking at her with a grin on his face. She matched his grin with one of her own, feeling better now that the pain was gone.

"She's moving?" He asked, walking over to the rocking chair.

Sara nodded, her hand never stopping the movements on her belly. "Yeah, a lot. I couldn't sleep."

"Come on, let's go to bed. I'll keep you company while you try to sleep."

It was Sara's turn to snicker.

"I'm serious! I'll talk to her, too. Perhaps that will help."

"Alright." Sara nodded, accepting his hands to help her get up. His arm went around her shoulders as she continued to rub her belly. "Can you imagine what it will be like when she's here?"

He smiled, "I can't wait to find out."

And twenty minutes later, after talking to his daughter in quiet tones, he looked up to see Sara fast asleep and decided he could sleep too. He kissed Sara's belly lightly before saying goodnight to both mother and child, and drifted off to a sleep of his own.

* * *

**A/N:** This chapter is way shorter than the last one, I know, but I really hope you liked it. I'll try to update next week - last chapter is coming soon!

Have a nice day,

_Maddie_


	16. Back to the Start

**Chapter 15 - Back to the Start**

He thought he would know which day would be the one.

As soon as Sara got into her last month of pregnancy, they became alert. They studied routes to the hospital, labor plans, who to call, what to bring to the hospital. They had everything planned for when Violet decided it was time.

They didn't anticipate she'd take a while to be born, though – the month came and went, along with several ultrasounds, doctor appointments, false alarms and backache complaints.

"Some babies are just a little lazy," Dr Bennett said with a reassuring smile as Sara sat down a chair in front of the doctor's desk just after an ultrasound, "I'm sure you'll be in labor soon. Everything looks perfect. Your placenta is supporting the baby just fine. Her movements are completely alright. The only thing I'm worried about is Violet's weight."

Sara shifted uncomfortably in the chair.

"I thought you said she was weighing almost eight pounds. That's normal for a newborn, isn't it?" Grissom asked worriedly.

"Oh, yes, that's completely normal. But if Sara doesn't go into labor in a week or so, I'm afraid Violet will get too big – if she does, we might need to perform a c-section." Dr Bennett said. "There are no problems with that, but some people just avoid c-sections. As cozy as Violet is right now, she can't stay inside you forever. I suggest we wait a week and see how everything is. Then we can plan on having an induction or a c-section. It's up to you."

"What do you say, honey?" Grissom asked Sara in an excited tone. "Do you want to wait another week?"

Sara sighed tiredly. "Yeah, sure. We don't have much choice, anyway. I guess I can cope with being pregnant for another week."

But the truth was that Sara was impatient. She wanted to see her child, to be able to have a nice sleep, to see her feet and to walk normally again. While she had been working, she had kept herself occupied; after she left for her maternity leave, time went by much, much slower.

Their job was done. Now… they only waited.

Six days after her last doctor appointment, the day started as many others had.

Sara woke up to hear Grissom rummaging through the drawers, obviously getting ready to go out, which didn't make much sense since it was his night off.

She opened her eyes slowly, not really in the mood to get up. It was nearly six am. She felt pretty comfortable where she was, and who knew if she would feel that comfortable after moving?

"Hey," she said sleepily, making Grissom stop and look at her.

"Hey," he said, walking over to her side of the bed and giving a quick peck on her mouth, "did I wake you up?"

"No, I woke up on my own. Bugs?"

"Yeah, body found in the desert. How are you feeling today?"

Sara sighed, and out of habit moved her hand to rest on her belly. "Okay. I'm feeling pretty comfy right now."

Grissom grinned and kissed her forehead as she closed her eyes. "Sleep in. I'll try to get home soon, and then I'll make you a nice breakfast."

"Be safe."

Sara felt his hand on her cheek before listening to Grissom leaving. She managed to get back to sleep but no sooner than fifteen minutes later she had to get up to use the bathroom.

Her back hurt a little more than normal, so after a shower, she decided sleep wouldn't come right now. She would have to wait until tomorrow to get one of Grissom's great breakfasts.

After eating something, she lay down with the purpose of finishing the sixth novel she read in a month, deliberately ignoring the pain in her lower back.

* * *

Grissom reached the lab three hours later, wondering if he would manage to get home soon. He had been feeling a little anxious, actually – Sara seemed so calm about the arriving of their child and he already felt nervously overwhelmed.

He had been with Warrick identifying the bugs when his cell went off.

"Grissom."

"Hey, it's me. Um… How's everything going?" He heard Sara's voice and smiled slightly, exchanging a quick look with Warrick before heading out to the hall.

"Warrick and I are identifying the insects. It should take another hour before I'm home. Everything okay?"

"Yeah, sure. No, I mean, I'm not sure, I… I think I might be in labor," her voice sounded a bit exasperated at the last sentence and Grissom became alert immediately.

"Labor? Honey, are you… are you sure it's not a false alarm again?" Grissom asked worriedly.

"I don't think so, I… it started about two hours ago. The contractions are pretty regular. It's different from Braxton-Hicks."

He exhaled slowly. "Okay. How far apart are they?"

He heard Sara take a long breath as if to calm down herself. "As of now? About seven minutes."

"Okay. Okay." He repeated to himself before heading into his office. "Keep calm. I'll be there in ten minutes. Think you can handle until then?"

"Yeah, I think so."

"Good. I'm leaving the lab right now. I love you, honey."

"I love you too."

He closed his phone and grabbed his jacket quickly. Warrick looked at him with wide eyes.

"Is Sara okay?"

"Yeah, I think the baby is coming." Grissom explained. "I'll call you later."

"Alright. Good luck, Daddy." Warrick called after him as he walked down the hall; he replaced his regular eye-rolling with a smile.

* * *

Grissom found Sara sitting on the couch when he arrived, and for a second he thought it might have been another false alarm again. However, when he looked at the painful expression on her face, he knew he was wrong. It wasn't a false alarm.

His daughter finally decided it was time to be born.

When she opened her eyes, her expression became a relieved one.

"Oh God, you're finally here." She said as he walked over her to help her get up.

He slid an arm around her shoulders and a hand to her belly, as if to be sure that was really happening.

"The overnight bag is in my car. Ready?"

Sara nodded nervously. "As I'll ever be."

* * *

Ten little fingers, ten little toes.

20 inches, 8 pounds.

Dark blue eyes staring right into his soul.

What he felt when he saw his daughter for the first name… he couldn't even name it. She was beautiful in every sense of the word; he didn't cry, but he had been close to it. After she had been examined and cleaned, they brought her to Sara's arms – and he truly didn't think he had seen a more beautiful scene than that.

It hadn't been one of those things you saw on movies; Sara didn't curse at him, the traffic wasn't heavier than normal on the way to the hospital, Sara's water didn't break in the middle of the hospital's corridor. During the ride to the hospital, they talked quietly, trying to maintain control. As it turned out, Sara had a pretty good pain resistance. After three hours of labor, they finally saw their baby crying right in front of them.

They didn't think they would ever forget that sound. A life they created together, even if it wasn't on purpose.

"Hi, Violet," he heard Sara saying just as their crying baby girl was put in her arms. "It's me. It's Mommy."

As she heard Sara's voice, Violet opened her eyes slowly and stopped crying, right before closing her eyes again. Sara looked up at him, her sweaty face beaming with a huge smile and eyes full of tears. He reached down and kissed her lips lovingly, beaming with pride as he looked at his newborn daughter.

* * *

_One year later._

"Remind me why we decided to do this today," Sara said in an exasperated tone, balancing a wide-eyed Violet against her hip as she looked at the mess their living room was.

Grissom had managed to convince Sara to host a small birthday party for Violet a few weeks ago; while Sara had been adamant against it at first, saying that Violet wouldn't remember any of it in the future, it _was _her first birthday – they should celebrate the day she arrived into their lives, even if she wouldn't remember it.

So, they settled for a small reunion at their house; just the team, Brass and Betty. And oh, they shouldn't forget Colleen. And Ted. And Richard and Monica and their boys. And Gil's godson, Benjamin, with Mark and Susan.

To say the least, they hadn't anticipated how four little boys could play with anything at all.

"It's not that bad," Grissom said, looking around, "I mean, it's actually good that the boys fit in well enough."

"Fit in? They looked like a gang, Gil!" Sara laughed, switching Violet to look at her in the eye. "And what about you, little lady? All that cake, everywhere!" Violet giggled at her mother's tone, her little pigtails swinging in the air.

"Greg hitting on Colleen was interesting."

"Greg hitting on _Catherine_ was interesting. And I think he might have said something inappropriate to your mother. Really, how much did he drink?"

Grissom laughed quietly. "You know what? This was probably the easiest birthday ever. Not too many children around or anything. Really, can you imagine it when she's six? I don't know if that makes me happy or tired."

Violet began to whimper, obviously wanting to be on the floor, and Sara did so immediately; she had to start cleaning soon. As Sara picked up cups and plates, Violet immediately stood up with the help of the coffee table and turned her head to look at her father with a bright smile – well, at least as bright as someone with four and a half teeth could smile – and, at least to Grissom, her smile could only be compared to her mother's.

Sara watched as Grissom crouched down and cheered for Violet to make her way to him, she could only wonder how she had gotten so big after so little time. In the end, Grissom had gotten what he wanted: Violet's dark brown eyes and hair proved that she was her mother's daughter. Sara, however, couldn't hide her laughter when Violet was focused on something or deep in thought – it left no question as to who her father was.

"Come on, Violet!" Grissom said as Violet walked tentatively towards her father. She was already managing to walk just fine, but anything longer than 5 feet without any support was too much for her right now. As Violet reached his arms, Grissom picked her up and swung her in his arms, making her giggle loudly.

Sara smiled at the sight they made; during her pregnancy, she sometimes found herself having second thoughts about her relationship with him. She even regretted – more than once – spending the night with him. But now, more than a year later, she could only be happy that Violet had this: a loving father, someone who would work two shifts in a roll and arrive home to an excited toddler who wanted to play with her daddy, and her daddy only.

As different as her motives to get pregnant were, she was happy that her daughter had a present father, that it would not be someone she would only hear of when she's older. And, for the first time in her life, Sara felt loved – not only by her daughter, who loved her purely, instantly – but also by Grissom.

Sometimes, all you need is to take a chance or a risk, and your whole life will change.

"Violet told me what she wants for her next birthday." Grissom said, still holding Violet, who babbled contently.

"Oh, really? What is it?"

"A little sister. She told me this morning after her tale about the spider and the butterfly." Grissom said innocently, and Sara had to smile.

_Start all over again?_

"Well," Sara said after a moment, "we can think about. Does it have to be a sister?"

"A Rose to go with a Violet, of course." Grissom said in an obvious tone. "Or perhaps… Hyacinth for a boy?"

Sara laughed. "Drop the floral theme, will you?"

"Gladly, my dear."

* * *

_San Francisco, 1996._

"But seriously, you won't need all of that," Henry said in a quiet voice after their laughter subsided, "You'll find Mr. Right. And when you do, well, hold onto him."

"Maybe I won't be his Miss Right," Sara teased.

"Okay, now, of course you will be!" Henry said in a serious tone. "And you'll have lots of cute babies with him. Like seven or eight little science nerds-"

"Don't even go there."

"…running around you screaming 'Mama, mama!'"

"Oh God."

"Who will bring over bugs to keep as pets instead of stray dogs."

"What?"

"Hey, you're the weirdo around here. Your kids with another science nerd will be a little weird too."

"I could marry an athlete."

"We both know you won't."

And there was absolutely nothing Sara could say to that.

* * *

**A/N:** This is it! Thank you SO much for everyone who has read and reviewed from the very beginning. Really, thank you.

This story was so much fun for me to write, and I hope you had fun reading as well.

Hope to see you all again with a new story soon!


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